


All That You Are

by angelari



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-07-17 06:45:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16090226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelari/pseuds/angelari
Summary: The high school a/u nobody asked for, but i somehow can't stop writing. A Kael'thas-centric fanwork as the young elf discovers life, love, and truth. Kael is trans, but begins with female pronouns for the first few chapters because at that point, he isn't aware/isn't comfortable with himself yet. The characters in this story are all between the ages of 15-17 (it's high school). The entire story is about a T rating and explicit chapters will be specifically marked.





	1. Chapter 1

Kael’thas Sunstrider, heir to the Sunstrider Holdings LLC, met Illidan Stormrage when they both entered the same high school. It wasn’t a particularly privileged high school, but they moved so late in the year that this was the only one they could enroll their daughter in to start her in time for the beginning of the term. She’d already had her freshman year at another school, so tenth grade would be yet another first time. 

Back then, Kael’thas still wasn’t sure if being a girl was the right thing to be, but whatever, it didn’t really matter as much as schoolwork did. Kael was going to be a major part of the family’s business after college, so getting in to a good place would be best. Which meant grinding through high school from day one, especially if it was going to be a public one. Still, this school had a good reputation, and she got ready for her first day of classes in her private bathroom, taking extra care of her long, flowing golden hair, minimal make-up ( _ just enough so her forehead didn’t shine as much as her eyes _ , her mother always said), a pair of trendy jeans and a cute pastel top. She grabbed a snack from the kitchen, eating it on the way to the garage. She couldn’t drive just yet - fifteen-year-olds were not supposed to touch the wheel of a car unless it was an emergency - so she had their chauffeur do it. 

He dropped her off just outside the parking lot and Kael’thas took a deep breath before heading up the long, paved path to the entrance to the school. Tossing her hair back over her shoulder, she reached for the curved, brass handle on the exterior of the door. It opened easily, and she walked inside. 

Teens were already hurrying around, greeting each other, talking loudly. Some of the more boisterous ones were starting to push each other around a little. Kael’thas was trying to find her way to the office when something slammed into her from behind, sending her flying down the hallway. 

“Incoming!” somebody yelled, and a bunch of masculine voices started to laugh. She landed in a crumpled heap on the floor, her left wrist and elbow taking the brunt of the force. No one moved to help her, and, after a moment, Kael’thas slowly rose to her feet, clutching her injured arm to her stomach. The crowd seemed to part around her, but only to move past her, and, feeling a little dazed, she continued her way to the office. 

She found it a few moments later when the hallways began to clear. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too late - she could ask for a pass, anyway. Walking up to the main counter, Kael’thas peered over the edge. 

“Can I help you, miss?” the receptionist perked up, her ears flicking to attention at the student’s entry. 

“Yes, I’m here for the orientation package, please.” Kael’thas said softly, still holding her arm. The receptionist turned, opening a cabinet and pulling out a pre-packaged set of items. She turned, then stood, opening up the plastic wrap on the counter-top. 

“This is your planner, it’s got the school’s official calendar, a list of all the available clubs and teams this year, and - are you okay?” she stopped mid-explanation, staring at Kael’thas’ arm. Kael looked down. Her elbow and wrist were turning a sickly shade of purple. 

“I...I fell.” she shifted her feet. 

“Let me get you some ice.” the receptionist darted off into another room, and Kael peered at the package. The planner wasn’t the only thing in it, but she waited politely for the staff member to come back. 

She did, after a moment, with two small baggies full of ice cubes and some paper towels. “Here.” she began to fuss over Kael, and once she was satisfied that the first aid would be enough, she went back to explaining the orientation package. “The planner also has detailed maps of every floor in the building. I recommend taking a picture with your phone of each page - we still don’t have an app, privacy issues.” she pointed out. “You’ll also have your student ID card that you can carry in your wallet or purse, you’ll need that to access the computer lab, the library, to get into your exams, and also in case a hall monitor asks you. We have two security guards at all times, they patrol the halls from six in the morning until nine at night, in a few different shifts. The security envelope here has your locker information, including your combination - all the lockers have a built-in combination lock. If it doesn’t work just come back here and let us know; a janitor might have to fix it. Oh!” she blinked. “Let me write you a pass to class, so you aren’t marked as late. First period is already in session. Your schedule is in your planner.” she flipped the book open, letting Kael have a look. 

Kael tried to absorb everything as quickly as possible, taking everything and waiting again until the receptionist had written a pass for her. “Thank you, ma’am.” she left, looking for her first-period english class. Two flights of stairs and down at the end of a hallway was the classroom door. The halls were completely empty at this point, and she felt her stomach drop as she peeked into the window of the classroom door. 

The teacher was already well into the lesson, and Kael cringed, but she had no choice. She couldn’t skip; it was her very first day and class, and if she didn’t show up at all, it wouldn’t look good on her. She took another breath, put her hand on the doorknob, and turned. 

The door didn’t budge. 

Kael’thas looked at the handle, then jiggled it again. Was it locked? She turned it, jerked it back and forth, and finally planted her boot on the wall next to the door and  _ pulled _ \- 

_ WHAM _ !

The door slammed open, Kael went flying, and everyone stopped what they were doing as Kael once more slowly crawled to her feet, red to the tips of her high-pointed ears as she slowly limped into the classroom and closed the door behind her, offering the late pass with a look that clearly said  _ I want to die _ . 

“Next time, just knock,” the teacher sighed, putting the pass on his desk. A bunch of students snickered at her, but Kael just forced herself to stare at the whiteboard and sat down in the very front row, where an empty desk waited for her. 

She had always been a good student, and it helped to be able to lose herself in the lesson so thoroughly. She forgot her injuries until she tried to lift her hand to answer a question and whimpered in pain as her elbow extended. She snapped it back down, cradling it, and raised her other hand to answer. 

The lesson was over not too long after, and everyone began working on answering questions about the chapter in the book they’d been going over. Kael’thas answered all of them quickly, and began to pour through her planner. She took some quick snaps of the floor layouts - there were four of them (basement, ground floor, second floor, third floor) - and her own schedule, adding it to her daily calendars. The teacher either didn’t notice or didn’t care that she was using her phone during class time, it seemed, because he didn’t say anything. She took a moment to remove her student ID card, looking at the little plastic slip with the photo her parents had submitted just last week. She looked at the front and back, the little magnetic strip, then slid it into her wallet and packed up her bag just as the bell rang to let out class. 

Kael took a chance and headed into a nearby bathroom. It was full of giggling teenage girls primping, kissing the mirror, and generally hanging out. She headed for a stall and locked it, sitting and inspecting her arm. The bruising would last a while, but the ice - now water - had helped the pain for a while. She took a snapshot of it, sending it to her mother and informing her that it was an accident, rather than anyone finding out later. There was no answer right away, and she slipped her phone back into her pocket, walking out of the bathroom and heading for her next class. 

By her luck it was math, one of her least favourites, but at least she was early. She found a seat near the windows, feeling a bit calmer by now, and as the students began to file in, she tried to find any friendly faces. It seemed that, despite the size of the building, everyone knew each other, or at least, knew the social groups. Kael could  _ try  _ to eke her way into the popular groups, or at least, buy their affection. Her parents gave her an extremely generous allowance and expected her to use the family’s money to further their social ties. This, she weighed with humiliating herself in public all over again if they decided she was already poison. 

Kael’thas opened her math textbook and watched as the teacher set up for the lesson. It was a brief presentation before everyone began working on problems, and Kael’thas struggled for a few moments before turning to the person next to her and quietly asking for help with a problem. Luckily, he took pity on her and rephrased the issue in a way she could get it, and she quickly solved the next row of equations before checking the answer key. Grinning, she marked the problems as done and went on to the next items. 

After math class it seemed to be lunch time already. Her schedule had 2 classes in the morning and 2 in the afternoon every day until December, then swapped in January for the other classes during the year. She hugged the wall in the staircase to avoid getting knocked down by the crush of students heading to the cafeteria. The line-ups were already long when she arrived in the kitchen, but the food selection wasn’t as bad as she’d dreaded. Nothing fancy, of course - burgers, fries, pizza, sandwiches - but there was fresh fruit, and she was able to grab a pre-packaged salad with grilled chicken that looked pretty tasty. She paid, then headed into the main room to find a seat. 

_ Good luck with that, _ she thought to herself as she put her back to the wall, flattening herself as much as possible to let people pass. She couldn’t see an empty seat anywhere, and began to slowly circle the room, feeling like a shark. A seat was here, but someone sniped it before she could. There was suddenly one way across the room, but she’d never get there in time. Finally, just as she was about to give up and eat lunch standing up, she spotted a chair at the end of a table full of rowdy boys. Praying they weren’t the ones from before who knocked her down and didn’t help her back up again, she dropped into the seat and began to open her salad container. 

“Hey, Illidan, I hear your brother’s dating a new girl this year.” 

“Fuck off, Fan.” 

“Yeah, I heard she thinks she’s turned into a boy magically over the summer.” 

“ _ Fuck off, Fan _ .” 

Kael’thas glanced sideways at the two voices. Three boys down from her, there were two burly-looking dudes with long hair. “Fan” was smirking, his long green hair loose over his shoulders and back. He was clearly trying to provoke the other boy, and as Kael looked at Illidan, he spoke again. 

“Xavius, huh? I bet she should  _ shave-ee-yes _ , no girl should be that hairy-” 

“If you say one more word about my brother’s boyfriend, I will make you kiss your own teeth good-bye.” Illidan deadpanned, then took an enormous bite out of his double cheeseburger. Grease dripped down his wrist and he dipped his head to lick at it. Kael swallowed. The night elf was unbelievably handsome, with rich violet skin and hair so black it was almost blue. He had startlingly golden eyes for someone so dark, and his tongue...she shivered, feeling heat trickle down below her stomach as he cleaned up his hands before polishing off the rest of the burger. 

“Whatever.” Fan sat back and rolled his eyes, digging into his bucket of fries. “I stopped caring about that chick a  _ long  _ time ago.” 

Illidan snorted, then pushed back from the table. “You’re not worth the suspension I’d get,” he stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “And also? Have fun being single  _ again  _ this year.” 

The boys at the table began howling and jeering at Fan as Illidan breezed away, and Kael turned as he walked past behind her, quickly shoveling her salad in. 

She caught a waft of scent as he strode past her. He smelled like a teenage boy, but for some reason, it was completely different. He was musky, a bit sweaty, greasy from his lunch, but something underneath smelled  _ so  _ good, and Kael’thas squeezed her thighs together for a moment, trying to stay calm. 

He didn’t notice, and was gone by the time she finished wolfing her lunch down, and had just enough time to run to the bathroom and clean up a bit before heading to afternoon classes. 

As Kael headed into her first afternoon class - history - she quickly checked her phone. Her mother had texted her a supportive note and let her know that she’d have some painkillers and ice packs on hand for when she got home.  _ Mom,  _ Kael furtively texted, one-handed as she got out her notebook,  _ there’s this boy.  _

_ Oh, honey. Please tell me he’s at least an elf.  _

_ Well, he’s a night elf.  _

_ Really, honey? A night elf?  _

_ Mom, you don’t understand.  _

Kael sighed and put her phone away just as the teacher came in. She quickly pulled her notebook open and wrote the date, ready to take notes. Her phone buzzed in her purse, but she didn’t pick it up, kicking it a little further under the desk to try and muffle the noise of vibrations. Luckily they weren't loud. She’d have to remember to silence it again when she left the house every morning. 

Class went by smoothly, and Kael checked her phone, silencing it as she headed down the hallway to her last class of the day. Gym. Should be fine. She swiped through the messages from her mother, warning her of the ‘dangers’ of dating a night elf boy, everything from diseases to cultural differences to just straight-up “but they have purple skin” that Kael had to roll her eyes at.  _ Oh my god, mom, not all night elves have purple skin. And do you know how racist you sound right now? That’s bad PR.  _ She texted, knowing that was her father’s code for ‘shut up before you lose us business’, and slipped her phone into her purse again. 

The changerooms were large, and she quickly pulled off her day-clothes and poured herself into the gym shorts and t-shirt the school had offered as a package. She gleefully put her hands in the pockets of the shorts, just to feel them, then headed out with the other girls to the floor. 

Across from them were a line-up of boys. 

“Wait, this class is co-ed?” Kael’thas furtively whispered to the girl beside her, a pink night-elf girl with white hair. The night-elf nodded sympathetically. 

“Yeah, all the gym classes are co-ed here.” she murmured. “I’m Maiev, by the way. What’s your name?” 

“Kael’thas.” Kael shuffled her sneakers a bit as she turned to look at the gym teacher, an overly-fit man in his early 40s. He looked like he could’ve been a football player about ten years ago. “We just moved here last month.” 

“Welcome to Hell,” Maiev said cheerfully, as the gym teacher blew his whistle and began barking out orders. Kael scrambled to find a team before he started tossing out dodgeballs. 

“Is it really that bad?” Kael scurried after her, trying to keep up with the night elf’s longer legs. They ended up in a group of four girls and four boys, all of whom Maiev seemed to know. 

“Usually, although it’s getting better. I think.” They were splitting up evenly and the teams seemed to know what to do, tossing on mesh jerseys and picking up foam balls to hurl at one another. Kael put her dodging and catching skills to use. She couldn’t throw, but she could sure get out of the way in time. 

Within about ten minutes, it was clear who the winners would be. Illidan in a green mesh jersey was leading his team to victory. They were pummelling everyone around the room. The entire set of 8 blues, yellows, and oranges were out. Kael had lost all of her team-mates already, even Maiev had stomped off the floor, tossing her red jersey into the bucket. A handful of purples, browns and whites remained. Kael kept her back to the wall at all times, edging around the outside of the gymnasium floor and making sure no one could get behind her. Finally, Illidan made his move, hurtling the dodgeball at her. 

She stared him dead in the eye, and caught the dodgeball in one hand as it neared her face. 

Illidan’s entire team erupted in laughter and awed applause as he blinked, then peeled off his jersey over his head, and walked off the field. Feeling giddy, Kael stared at the yellow foam ball in her hands and didn’t notice as she was bapped on the head by someone from the white team. 

“Hey, I tagged you out!” the white player came up and poked her, and, embarrassed, Kael sheepishly made her way off the field to return the jersey. No sooner had she started pulling it off over her head than she heard a familiar voice behind her. 

“That was impressive. Next time, I want you on  _ my  _ team.” Illidan proclaimed, and Kael jumped about a foot in the air in surprise, her arms and hair still tangled in the mesh jersey. 

“Ahh!” 

“Oh hell, I’m sorry.” Illidan gently began to help undo the damage he’d caused, easing the webbing out of her hair while Kael whimpered from the stinging pull. “I didn’t mean to startle you. But that was really incredible how you caught that. I thought for sure you’d miss.” 

“Why? Because I’m a girl?” Kael’thas huffed, glaring up at him, cheeks aflame. He blinked his golden eyes at her, then laughed, scooping his long hair back and tying it into a ponytail.  _ Oh fuck, he’s a thousand times hotter now… _ “No. Because you’re  _ short _ .” he grinned down at her, putting his enormous palm on top of her head and ruffling her hair. 

“I am not  _ short _ ,” Kael grumbled, still sizzling, brick red to the tips of her ears. “You’re just ginormous.” 

“That I am, little one.” he turned, putting his elbow on top of her head as though he were leaning against a banister. “You make an excellent arm-rest.” 

“You stop that!” Kael swung at him, trying to push him away, but laughing. His teasing didn’t seem to be cruel, since he already said he’d wanted her...on his team. 

“Hmm, how ‘bout this then? A chinrest.” he sidled up behind her and rested his chin in the part of her hair. 

Kael went very quiet, very quickly. The weight of him there was comforting, calming - the pressure of his chest against her back, and she suddenly  _ ached  _ to have his arms around her, standing like that. But he didn’t, and he was gone before she wanted him to be, turning around and yelling at his previous team members to finish the game before everyone got to be as old as Khadgar. 

“Uh oh.” Maiev was back, tucking Kael under her arm and drawing her away from Illidan, back towards the girls who were sitting and talking, waiting for the game to finish. “He’s bad news, girl, don’t even go there.” 

“I wasn’t,” Kael tried to protest, but just ended up blushing all over again. 

“Trust me, honey, I went there. I was there last year, and he is  _ trouble _ .” Maiev sighed, and Kael blinked up at her. 

“Um...is he like, a notorious cheater or something?” 

“Oh, no! Not at all. Nah, I’ve known him since Kindergarten. Once he gets his claws in you, he won’t let go.” Maiev curled her fingers into Kael’s shoulders. She shivered. “He’s sorta possessive. But not like, in a creepy way. But he’s so popular, with boys  _ and  _ girls, you’ll always come after his friends, family, schoolwork, stuff like that.” 

“Oh.” her ears wilted a little. “Is that why you broke up?” 

“No,” Maiev shook her head. “He turned me gay.” 

“He  _ what _ ?” 

“Oh, I’m just kidding. Don’t look so offended.” the night elf rolled her eyes. “I came out as a lesbian. You  _ do  _ know what a lesbian is, right?” 

Kael huffed. “I’m not  _ completely  _ sheltered. I just...wasn’t expecting that, is all.” 

“Meh, I guess that’s fair.” Maiev grinned. “Anyway, yeah. Don’t go chasing that boy down. He’ll break your heart while loving you the whole time.” 

“I’ll pitch the story to Hollywood,” Kael replied, and the whole group laughed. 

Sooner than she could believe, it was time to go. Maiev helped her find her locker - she hadn’t been, all day - and she took a few minutes to hang up her sweater and put in the textbooks she wouldn’t need for her homework that night. A few other things from her purse stayed there too, then she locked it once more. 

“Do you need a ride? My older sister usually drives me home.” Maiev offered as they walked to the parking lot. 

“Nah, we, uh, have a driver.” Kael blushed again. 

“Ha- _ ha _ , rich people!” Maiev laughed at her. “It’s all good. See you tomorrow, then!” she walked off in the direction of another car, and Kael waited by the steps for the familiar sight of her family’s daily car. It pulled up not long after, and she got in. 

She read her messages in silence as the chauffeur drove her home. There were a handful more from her mother, trying to reassure her that she wasn’t there to judge young love, only to warn her off of making rash decisions - and perhaps getting her started on birth control if she was interested. It made her a bit queasy to think about having to talk about sex with her parents - luckily, her old private school had had quite the interesting medical textbooks in the biology lab for her near-insatiable curiosity - so she resolved to not bring it up. She’d go to Planned Parenthood if it came to it, but hopefully she could just meet with her doctor and get a prescription. Maybe they’d accept her mother’s text messages as proof of permission. 

By the time she got home, though, she was too hungry to think about anything else other than dinner, and after grabbing a quick shower to wash off the gym-sweat (there hadn’t been enough time after class), she headed down to the dining room to eat with her family. 

“How was your day, sweetheart?” her father inquired. Anastarian Sunstrider was a tall, imposing man. All three of them kept their hair long, though his was tied back in an elegant tail right now. 

“Oh, she met a boy today,” her mother gushed a little, and Kael glared daggers at her mother. 

“Yeah, but according to mom, I’m not allowed to talk to him. He’s a night elf.” 

“Night elves are fine, sweetheart, but I’d have to meet him before I can let you two do anything together.” 

She felt hot blush crawl up her face again, not for the first time that day. “Da- _ aad _ , I’m not gonna - look, I barely said two things to him today! It’s not like we’re in love.” she cast her mind back to what Maive had said. “And apparently he’s got a bad rap already, so it’s not like we’re gonna get married.” 

“See? You have nothing to worry about, my dear.” Anastarian raised a glass of wine at Kael’s mother, who sighed, elegantly, and sipped her own. “Refined tastes come with age, my love. Our daughter is still a child -” 

“I’m  _ fifteen _ , dad!” 

“Teenager, and she has a long, long life ahead of her. Let her be young and foolish!” he laughed. “Heaven knows I was, before we met.” 

“Don’t remind me,” her mother replied, and drained the rest of her wine glass. 

When the meal and uncomfortable conversations about her love life (or lack thereof) were over, Kael headed upstairs to her study to work on her homework. The second floor had a wing that was just hers - a bedroom with its own private bath, and a small study where she had her computer desk and bookshelves. She curled up in her chair, legs tucked up underneath her, and began copying problems from the textbook to work out in her notebook. She did the questions in black ink and the answers in blue, to show her work and also because it looked nice on the page. Little touches like that had always impressed her tutors and private-school teachers, and even though she doubted it would make a difference to the school she was at now, it wouldn’t hurt. 

Once she’d finished the assignment for the night, she put her things in her bag again and went to relax in her bedroom. She had a tablet and TV - she kept the computer in her study so she wouldn’t be tempted to be on it all night (the charger for the tablet was also in her study. Good habits were taught from childhood, her parents said, and even if they spoiled her, they wanted her to get a good education). Browsing YouTube for a while, she paused, then pulled up Facebook on her phone and looked up the name Illidan. There was only one hit: Illidan Stormrage, same country, same town. That must be him. Silently she began to stalk his profile, checking out his public photos and posts. It seemed fairly benign; he talked about school, sports, a little bit of generic political talk from time to time. Lots of group selfies - him with friends, him with his brother (apparently this was the twin brother who dated Xavius, he had long green hair), and further back, happy selfies of himself and Maiev. He hadn’t taken them down, and had left up the comments of “me and my lady-moon <3” which Kael thought was really sweet and adorable. She kept scrolling and scrolling, but eventually her phone buzzed at her - she’d put a limiter on to tell her when it was late at night, and she’d been scrolling for an hour before it angrily warned her it was ten minutes to midnight. Scrambling out of bed, she hurried into her study and plugged in her phone and tablet to charge, then changed into pajamas, crawled back into bed, and turned out the light. 


	2. Chapter 2

Morning came too soon, for Kael had been in the most sweetly anticipated of teen-aged dreams: the prolonged make-out session. In it, she had been in Illidan’s lap underneath a tree in a grassy field, and they had been kissing and kissing and kissing. He had a hand up her skirt, petting her thigh, and she had her arms around his shoulders. In retrospect, she thought to herself as she washed her hair and picked out her clothes for the day, it had been rather tame. She found it odd that she’d never had a full dream like that, with everything in it; she supposed that it was because she’d never done it before. Maybe once she had and once she knew what it felt like, she’d have them.

In any case, it was time for breakfast. She popped down into the kitchen and grabbed a bagel, spreading some cream cheese on and checking the news feed on her phone. Nothing terribly interesting - some political stuff, but then there always was - and then she paused, and looked up Illidan again.

He’d posted this morning, a selfie of himself running track. “Five miles before breakfast,” the caption said, and featured a sweaty, grinning young Night Elf flashing a thumbs up to the camera. Kael nearly choked.

Before she knew what she was doing, she tapped the Like button.

The little blue thumbs-up floated on her screen for a heart-stopping second before she frantically tapped at it, and the confused software in her hand liked and un-liked the post about five times before crashing.

“No, no, no,” she begged her phone, trying to bring up Facebook again to check it, when her mother walked into the kitchen.

“Honey, is something wrong?”

“N-no, mom, just, uh, phone being weird.” she quickly shoved it into her purse. “Gotta go - bye! Love you!” she raced past her confused parent and down the stairs into the garage. The chauffeur was talking with the mechanic, but seeing the young woman’s anxiety-ridden face, offered to drive her in another vehicle.

They both quickly got into the back-up and began the drive. Kael kept checking Facebook, hoping that Illidan hadn’t yet noticed the notification storm that had happened, hoping past reason that the myriad of clicks would be deleted in some wave of glitches or technical updates. By the time they pulled up to the parking lot, she had worked herself into a lather and had to take a few minutes to calm herself down before smoothly exiting the car and striding up the pathway to the main entrance.

Once inside, she let herself get lost in the busy crowd. Grabbing her books from her locker, she headed to her first class and noticed the door was still open. With a happy smile, she hurried in and picked a desk.

“On time today, I see.” the teacher remarked, but he was smiling. Kael chuckled weakly, shaking her head.

“I think the door appreciates it.” she offered.

The classroom filled up quickly, and the lesson began. Kael’thas had almost forgotten about the whole incident until her phone buzzed in her purse just as she was leaving first period.

She nearly dropped it when she saw the incoming Friend Request: Illidan Stormrage. Without thinking again, she tapped the “ignore” button and put it back in her purse before her shaking fingers could lose it in the crowd. She wiped her sweaty palm on her jeans, taking a few deep breaths, before heading to Math class.

To her surprise, she spotted the pink night elf from yesterday. Maeve? _Maiev_. “Hey,” Kael waved a little, settling at a nearby desk.

“Good morning,” Maiev seemed pleased to see her. “You still doing all right? Hanging in there? How’s day 2 going so far?”

“Good.” she nodded. “Better than yesterday.” she shoved Illidan’s friend request to the back of her mind and locked the door. “I’m looking forward to kicking his ass today in gym class again.” she made one hand into a fist and punched her open palm. Maiev laughed, and Kael laughed, and they both relaxed a little, chatting about the homework. As it turned out, Maiev knew her numbers, and would be able to help if Kael needed a concept repeated or explained in a different way.

The teacher came in and put a stop to the chatter, and everyone got to work. Despite what she’d heard about public schools, this one didn’t seem too disruptive. At least, in the classes that she was in. The room was large, and the windows afforded a nice breeze coming through. The desks weren’t coated in chewed gum and grime, and the floor wasn’t sticky and warped. All in all, a good first impression, even if she’d been run down like part of an obstacle course on her very first day. No one seemed to remember, at the very least.

At the end of math class, Maiev gestured for her to follow. Curious, Kael’thas followed the young elf out a back staircase and onto an outdoor field. There was a small group of night elves gathering, mostly girls, settling in one area.

“We’re allowed to come eat outside?” she marvelled, then realized she hadn’t brought a lunch.

“Not really? But they’re not going to stop us unless we leave garbage everywhere. The point is just to relax and pick up after yourself, and they won’t bother us.” Maiev suggested, as they sat. When it became apparent that Kael’thas had nothing to eat, the nearest teens offered her fruit and snacks.

Kael’thas ate from the small offered buffet, thanking everyone, as she chatted with new people. Someone remarked on her ‘sick tribal tats’ and Kael quickly tugged the long sleeves of her sweater further down to her wrists again. “I, um, got pushed into some lockers.” she explained awkwardly. “Not bullied - just somebody banged into me and didn’t notice.”

“Oooh.” the night elf wrinkled her nose. “Well, I hope you feel better soon.”

Kael quietly resumed eating her lunch, and Maiev started talking about the city, asking if Kael had managed to see any of the cool things in the neighborhood (she hadn’t) or visited any of the really bad tourist traps (again, she hadn’t).

“We’ll have to take you around this weekend.” Maiev was grinning, but then a shadow fell over her face. Literally - someone was standing in the sunlight.

“I thought I might find you here.” a familiar, low voice drawled behind her. “You didn’t accept my Friend Request this morning.”

Kael froze, her hand to her lips with the strawberry half-bitten into.

“Go suck a fuck,” Maiev stared up at Illidan coolly, still sipping from her can of soda. “We’re having lunch.”

“Aww, but Magic Fingers here liked my photo seventeen times this morning. I thought she wanted to get my attention.” Illidan dropped to his knees behind her, hanging over Kael’thas shoulders, his chin on her hair, his arms resting over her chest. She could feel herself blushing red hot, every hair standing on end.

“It was probably an accident, ‘cause _nobody_ likes your grody pre-shower selfies, you greaseball,” Maiev poked Illidan in the nose with her free hand. “Get off of her before she catches a terminal case of The Athletics.”

“Hey, we have lots of co-ed sports teams. I’ll get Magic Fingers to go out for at least _one_ team this year.” Illidan refused to budge, though he looked down at Kael’s still-frozen hand. “Oooh. Strawberries. Can I have a bite?” and without waiting for her response, he lifted her limp wrist up to his mouth and took the entire strawberry in his teeth, wrapping his lips around her fingertips and letting them linger in his mouth for a moment before slowly pulling back, his tongue lapping at the pads of her fingers to clean the last of the strawberry juices off of them.

“Hey, she didn’t bring a lunch today, those were my strawberries!” another night elf pouted, and the moment was broken as Illidan laughed and stood up.

“I’ll bring you a bucket from the market tomorrow, Shandris.” Kael’thas was still frozen, hunched over, as Illidan’s haunting laugh trailed across the outdoor quad and away from the group.

“Um...are you okay? Hel-looo, Azeroth to Kael’thas, come in, Kael…” Maiev waved a hand in front of the elf’s face. “You look...awful. Don’t let him get to you.”

“I’m fine,” Kael finally squeaked, able to move again. Her whole body itched and ached, and her face radiated heat. She thought she might burst a blood vessel. “I’m just fine. He’s totally not getting to me.”

“Uh huh.” Maiev deadpanned, looking thoroughly unconvinced. “Sure he’s not. Listen, girl, have your parents given you ‘the talk’ yet?”

“I know about birth control, Maiev, I’m not _that_ sheltered…” Kael protested, pressing a cold soda can to her cheek to try and cool herself down. “God, it’s not like I’m gonna chase him down and pounce on him.”

“Just in case you do,” Maiev rolled her eyes, “the nurse’s office has a candy jar full of condoms behind the counter. They keep it fully stocked and there’s nobody watching that corner, so that students don’t feel like they’re being spied on. Still, if you want me to grab some for you…”

“Oh my _god_ ,” she gave up trying to get the blush to go away. “First you’re telling me to steer clear, now you’re telling me to go get your ex? Make up your mind!”

The small group around them laughed a little, and it was Maiev’s turn to blush a little. “Well, if you’re into dick, he’s got a decent amount of it,” she lowered her voice. “Just, uh, don’t tell him I sent you.”

“Are you daring me to ask him out? Because I will,” Kael didn’t altogether know what was happening. There was a buzzing in the back of her head, excitement in her stomach. “I totally will.”

“Fine, I dare you,” Maiev crossed her arms. “But you’ll be sorry.”

“Nuh uh. I accept your dare.” Kael got to her feet, unsteadily grabbing her bag. “I’m gonna get him to say ‘yes’ before the end of lunch. You just watch me.”

“Kael, _wait -_ “

It was too late. She’d headed off across the quad and back to the doors. Pulling one open, she headed back up to the office. The nurse’s station was just down the hall, quiet, unguarded. Peering behind the counter, Kael grabbed a fistful of rainbow-packaged condoms and shoved them in her purse, then marched up the hallway.

Her stomach dropped when she realized she had no idea where Illidan would be. Kael’thas sagged against a row of lockers and closed her eyes. “Come on, think…” she murmured out loud. Maybe he’d be in the cafeteria? Lunchtime was almost over. What class did he have before gym?

Grabbing her phone, Kael frantically pored through Illidan’s posts for the past few days. He was complaining about having to do dissections right after lunch….yesss!

She charged down the hallway towards the science lab wing, looking for anyone milling about. He was easy enough to spot - head and shoulders above most of his friends, with his long black hair tied back to keep it out of the way for the lab.

“HEY ILLIDAN!” Kael shouted down the hallway. The entire student body’s babbling slowed to a stop, and everyone turned to look at this shouting person. Illidan blinked, then grinned when he saw who it was.

“Yeah?” he called back, not a shout, not needed, just slightly raised voice. Everyone’s heads ping-ponged back and forth between the two of them.

“Will you go out with me?” Kael had to spread her feet apart to stand upright, dizzy with anticipation and anxiety. Seriously? She had to do this in front of, like, half the school? Was she insane!?

“Yeah!” Illidan blinked, surprised and pleased as he dug in his jeans pocket for a second. “But uh, accept my friend request first, huh?”

“Oh - right…” she tucked her head down, fumbling to get her phone out of her purse. The world seemed to start moving again, students murmuring and heading into their classes, Illidan’s buddies chattering away to him as they went into the bio lab.

Just as she was accepting his friend request, the bell rang. Kael’s eyes widened. _Oh shit!_ She had about twenty seconds to get to her history class, and sprinted off towards the staircase.

She didn’t quite make it, but the teacher was halfway through attendance so she managed to get in before her name was called, so she wasn’t marked as late. The class seemed to pass in a blur, and Kael grabbed her things and headed down to the girls’ change room before gym class, changing into her shorts and t-shirt and running out on to the gymnasium floor before Maiev could confront her.

Illidan was waiting there for her, and broke from his friends group to come over and chat. “That took a lot of guts to ask me out in front of a whole bunch of students,” he pointed out, smiling. “You feelin’ okay?”

“I felt like I was gonna die and puke and pass out, probably not in that order,” Kael said, her stomach flip-flopping.

“Hopefully not in that order. That’d get messy.” Illidan offered, nodding as he looked down at her. He had a long nose and fierce eyes, despite their golden glow.

“Kael!” a voice called behind her. She and Illidan looked up - it was Maiev, breathless and a little cross-looking. “Ohmygod, girl, did you really…?”

“Yeah, she did.” Illidan put an arm around her shoulders and tugged Kael against him. She squeaked as he pressed a little closer, his warm, muscled chest surrounding the back of her head and shoulders. “And I said yes. You can’t have her back now, she’s firmly in the land of Liking Boys.” he teased.

Maiev rolled her eyes. “Okay, but if she changes her mind, you’re not allowed to blame me.”

“Deal.” Illidan stuck out his tongue, and Kael giggled a little and put her hands on his bulky arm, feeling the muscles tense and relax there. Woah. It felt so good, so right, like this. To be held by a big burly guy. Today maybe he was wearing some sort of cologne, because he smelled _super_ good. “So, Magic Fingers, when’s our first date?”

“F-first?” Kael blinked, blushing all over again. Why couldn’t the gym teacher come in and break up the tension!? Oh man, put on the spot. “Uh...you free tonight?”

“Sorry, football practise.” he apologized. He still wasn’t letting her out of the hug. One arm was over her chest and shoulders, the other one holding her waist, across her stomach. A bit like a seatbelt. His massive palm gripped her hipbone and she felt a little weak. “Gotta get ready for the Homecoming game in a few weeks. But if you like, we can get together on Friday night after school. Just have to let me shower, first, and get changed after gym. Unless you wanna shower together…?” he drew her a little closer, his hips pressing against her lower back…

“All right, everybody line up!” the gym teacher was blowing his whistle. _Dammit, not now!_ Kael moaned to herself; even that little flash of nothingness had made her wet, just the suggestion of an intimate shower…

Illidan released her, laughing, and went to go find his buddies again. Kael found her way over to the other side of the line. He was numbering people off, and passing out basketballs. Small teams were doing drills, and she wasn’t on his team again. However, the small group she was with, seemed encouraging, and everyone started practising.

She kept trying to spot Illidan as he did his drills, and sometimes she managed to catch sight of him: his muscles rippling, t-shirt stretching up to show miles and miles of smooth violet skin (night elf males didn’t apparently have much body hair, which seemed both incredibly exotic and erotic to her), and always, always, a confident grin on his lips. Was it her imagination, or did he look happier now that he had a date coming up?

Kael was grinning as she lined up and dunked her basket.

After class, Maiev followed her into the changeroom, pestering her with more questions. “Ohmygod, just add me on Facebook,” Kael teased her. “If anything insane happens, I’ll message you. You’re the _expert_ on all things Illidan, after all.”

“Hey, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Just be safe, girl, okay?”

“I will.” she opened her purse and showed off the pile of condoms. Maiev laughed her head off and they both headed to their lockers.

“You want me to tell you what he likes, or shall I let it be a Magical Mystery Tour for you?” Maiev teased, watching Kael’thas blush brick-red all over.

“Oh my god, _stop_ ,” Kael protested, feeling her pulse pumping in her cheeks, “I’m gonna have a blood vessel pop in my brain if you don’t quit it already.”

“Geez, I like seeing you blush, sorry.” the pink night elf relented, shaking her head. “All right, all right, I won’t tease you. But seriously - you have _any_ problems, you come to me okay? I wanna make sure you’re safe.”

“Thank you for looking out for me.” Kael smiled, still flushed, but calming herself as they finished up at their lockers and headed out to the parking lot. Maiev went her way, and Kael went her own, waiting for her ride.

To her surprise, her father pulled up in his Jaguar, leaning out the window. “Hey, baby girl. You wanna grab a pizza and some ice cream with me?”

Kael laughed and slid into the passenger’s seat, buckling in. “Are you fighting with mom? Is this some father-daughter bonding because she’s being a wine-o again?”

“Your mother is not a wine-o.” Anastarian rolled his eyes, but laid on the gas a little hard and Kael had to brace herself against the seat as the car peeled out of the lot.

“I’m gonna lose my lunch if you take another corner like that,” Kael threatened, gripping the armrests for dear life. “It’s a car, dad, not a motorcycle. You drive with four wheels, not two!”

“Teenagers and their sarcasm. My driving is flawless,” Anastarian bragged, but he slowed down a little, more controlled now, letting his fancy car show off for him. There were a few moments of silence. “I’m serious, though. Pizza and ice cream, you and me, baby girl. I found this really great place today, came highly recommended.”

“Will mom be joining us?”

More silence from her father. He was hyperfocused on the road now, pretending that he hadn’t heard her. Kael gripped her bag in her lap, then looked up. “I bet I can eat more pizza and ice cream than you, daddy!”

“You’re on, kiddo. I say we get the biggest pizza they have and whoever finishes their half last has to...hmm…” he considered, looking out for the restaurant. “Let’s see a movie on Friday night, whoever finishes last has to pay for the popcorn…”

“Um, daddy?” Kael interrupted quietly. “I, uh, I have a date on Friday night.”

“That soon?” he almost jerked the wheel in surprise, but managed to smoothly pull into the parking lot. “Is it that night elf boy you were talking about the other day?”

“Yeah...it was a dare that got out of hand.” Kael admitted with a guilty grin, as she let herself out. Her father joined her and they walked towards the door.

“Honey, if it’s something you need an excuse to get out of-”

“Oh, no! No, it’s fine. The dare was to get his number. Or, uh, ask him out. He said for sure, but it’s something I’m okay with.” she saw her father visibly relax. Her mother might’ve been old-fashioned, but at least she knew her dad always had her back, had her safety in mind above all else. She was definitely her father’s daughter, looking more like him than her mother - tall, lean, elegant. Bright blue eyes and long, silken blond hair. “I promise, this guy isn’t creepy or weird at all. Here, I have him on facebook.” she pulled open the app and got to Illidan’s profile, handing the phone over to her dad.

They were walking into the restaurant, so he was awkwardly scrolling with his thumb through the young night elf’s feed and inquiring about a table for two at the same time, but eventually he passed the phone back. “He seems like quite the athlete, but he seems all right from his public page. I give my blessing for a first date, but if there’s gonna be a second, I need to meet him. Deal?”

“It’s a deal, daddy.” Kael grinned as they were led to a table and given a pair of menus. She poked around, looking at the different pizza and pasta options before they decided on the “Meat Mountain” - a regular crust pizza with tomato sauce, cheese, and a list of sliced meats so long it took up half the column. Kael ordered an orange soda and a milkshake to go with it, and her father ordered an iced coffee. They dithered on the dessert menu while waiting for their pizza to cook and arrive, and the conversation kept coming back to Illidan.

“So tell me more about him.” her father seemed genuinely interested, genuinely curious, smiling openly as he leaned on his elbow. He was never so casual as he was when he was just with her. As the CEO of a major holdings company, he was basically new royalty, and her mother was living the high life of a queen. “I mean, you showed me his Facebook page, but it’s mostly a collection of snapshots.”

“Well, he’s tall. Super tall. Like, taller than you.” Kael giggled, feeling her cheeks heat up all over again just thinking about him. “He’s really nice. I like, called him out in front of an entire hallway full of students, and he made me feel safe and respected. I met him in gym class…” she began to explain her first few days of school, showing him the fading bruises on her arm. He’d not been able to take a close look last night due to his busy schedule, and he winced as he gently prodded the bruise near her wrist.

“Well, he seems like a good person,” Anastarian finally nodded, then noticed their pizza was coming. “Ahh, here it is!”

It was utterly delicious. Kael got cheese all over her fingers and both of them made a mess of themselves, but laughing and having a wonderful time. They had just enough room when they were done to order a chocolate lava cake to split, and took their time with a generous scoop of ice cream, letting it melt a little before finishing it off and sitting back to let their food digest a little.

“Maybe a lap around the parking lot before we head home?” Anastarian suggested lightly, and Kael gave him a quiet look.

“Dad, if you wanna just drive around for a while, I’m cool with that.” she replied, and he didn’t say anything for a moment, just fiddled with his napkin.

“I’m sorry, baby girl. I shouldn’t be like this.” he sighed, standing and walking with her to the parking lot. “I’m an adult, and I shouldn’t be expecting you to deal with your parents’ issues.”

“I love you, dad.” she hugged him sideways, and he put an arm around her shoulder, and they slowly waddled to the car, stomachs full of pizza and ice cream.

Later that night, as Kael was curled up at her desk with her homework, she thought about it. Coming home and finding her mom passed out on the sofa, she’d looked elegant, like a lady in a movie that had fainted, knowing that the lack of wine bottles around her was just someone’s hasty clean-up job, possibly one of the maids. Her father had gone straight to his study, and she’d tip-toed up to her rooms and set about adding more friends on Facebook as well as focusing in on her homework. She did have school in the morning, after all.

Still, Kael stayed up later than she should have, scrolling through Maiev’s timeline as well as Illidan’s. She was in a lot of happy photos, and she also hadn’t taken down the selfies with Illidan either, from last year, the two of them looking relaxed and good together. _He turned me gay,_ Maiev had joked. Kael knew that wasn’t how being gay worked, but...still. They had looked so happy together, and then it turned out they weren’t? She sighed and went to go plug in her phone.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning when she went downstairs to get breakfast, she grabbed some of the pre hard-boiled eggs and mashed them into a sandwich with toast and tomatoes, eating quickly before going down to the car. The driver took her to the usual drop-off point and Kael hurried inside to see if anyone was there yet.

She didn’t share her first-period English class with anyone she knew just yet, but as she got to Math, she slid into the desk next to Maiev and got a small fist-bump from the girl.

“Hey, how’s things?”

“I’m good,” Kael nodded, getting her things out. “How are you?”

“Excited, second-hand, kinda?” Maiev chuckled softly. “I think you’re gonna have a good time, but I’m also just...Illidan either hates you or loves you, there’s really no in-between, he’s an all-or-nothing kinda guy. That can be too intense for some people.”

Kael shivered. “Actually, I like the sound of that.”

“Even if he writes you goofy love poems and shoves them in your locker?”

“Ohmygod, he does that?” Kael blushed.

“If you don’t order him to stop.”

“I’d love that…” Kael grinned to herself, looking down, playing with her pen, clicking and un-clicking it. “That sounds really sweet…”

“Better you than me, then.” Maiev smiled, teasing one last time before settling back at her desk. Kael checked her phone. One more day, their date was tomorrow…

The two of them worked on their math problems together before heading down to the quad for lunch. Kael felt a bit awkward that she hadn’t brought a lunch again today, but everyone was more than happy to share. She set a reminder on her phone to bring lots of food for Friday lunch and they’d have a better picnic like that.

Even though Illidan didn’t show up the entire lunch break, Kael still had a good time. She got to know about half a dozen new people, in that little friend group. They’d been hanging out for years, ever since middle school it seemed, but they were all pretty friendly. Most of them were Night Elves, but there was a really laid-back Tauren girl who had an elaborate flower tattoo up the outside of her leg. “It’s real,” she showed it off, letting Kael examine the woven vines and rose blossoms. “In my culture, many Tauren start having tattoos when they reach puberty. That’s considered ‘adulthood’.” she grinned. “I don’t know if I’m an adult, but I was sure pumped to get this. I’m gonna have rose gardens all over.”

“You’re gonna look amazing!” Kael agreed, wondering if her parents would murder her if she ever got a tattoo. What would she get, anyway? She considered a few options. She wasn’t going to get something big and elaborate, maybe something small. A heart or a little star? Was that too girly? She didn’t want to be some sort of stereotypical bimbo. And _no_ tramp stamp. No ankle tattoo. No wrist, or neck, or back, or chest...hmm. No real acceptable - _bicep_. She put her hand on her arm and squeezed, then grimaced.

“Strong woman?” Maiev inquired, dipping a carrot stick into some dip she’d brought.

“Not strong enough.” Kael lamented, flexing and pouting. “I need more bulk.”

“Protein powder, maybe?” she crunched away. “Ask Illidan what he uses to build muscle mass.”

“That isn’t natural?”

Everyone in the group began to laugh. Kael blushed, feeling more foolish than she’d been about sex and birth control. “Um...I’m guessing no?”

“Night elf dudes build upper body strength pretty good,” one of the other boys in the group pointed out, flexing his arms, “but nowhere _near_ what Illidan’s packing.”

“And what _is_ he packing?”

“Eight and a half inches.” Maiev deadpanned, and everyone burst into laughter again. Kael felt like her face was on fire, and she busied herself with finishing off some macaroni salad she’d been passed.

They departed from their group and Kael pushed herself through her next class before rushing down to gym. When she got to the changeroom, Maiev and a bunch of other girls were standing around completely naked, and Kael found herself awkwardly looking away. It was strange; it wasn’t as though she was repulsed, but...all these girls were so happy, it seemed. They were comparing breast sizes and how they looked, but she didn’t want that. Kael quickly pulled on her gym clothes and went to find Illidan.

She leaned against the wall in the main gym area, waiting. Why did she suddenly feel so cold? Her stomach was unsettled. Not a good sign. She looked down, then jerked her head back up again. _No_ , Kael thought to herself, _don’t focus on that_. To her, her breasts were at best, a cute fashion accessory. Something to pair with her shoes. They looked cute in sweaters, but...if she could just remove them most days, that would be best. _You’re a fucking freak_ , she thought to herself, forcing a smile on her face, _don’t ever let them find out_.

“Hey, it’s Magic Fingers!” a familiar voice called, and Kael turned to spot Illidan half-jogging over to her, tossing an arm around her shoulders. “You ready to kick my ass again today?”

“Oh, yeah!” Kael flexed, and when Illidan tsk’d and flexed back, she grabbed on to his bicep and began to do pull-ups. Illidan roared with laughter, holding still as she counted. “One! Two! Three!”

“We should be workout buddies. You can spot me when I’m pumping iron.” Illidan observed, amused, as he watched the smaller elf tap her chin on his flexed muscle.

“I need to catch up to you!” Kael kept doing pull-ups, though her arms were starting to get sore.

“Hah, fat chance.” Illidan teased. “I’ve been doing this for years.”

“I’m still gonna catch up, and when I do, I - “

The gym teacher, with his usual impeccable timing, blew his whistle, interrupting their little play-fight. Everyone gathered into four teams - Illidan pulling Kael to his side - and began running small basketball games at each half-court. It was tough, as Kael was shorter than most of the other students - at least, the elves - and it was hard for her to keep up or jump as high. Still, she managed to have a good time, and getting a warm, sweaty hug from Illidan at the end of it all just made her stomach flutter. She rested her cheek against his broad chest and hugged him back, grinning like mad.

“Sure you don’t wanna shower off with me?” Illidan teased as they stood there for a moment on the court.

“I think we’d get expelled,” Kael laughed, but shivered when Illidan’s hand slipped down her back and rested just above her ass. If she was _just_ a little bit taller...she tried to stand on her tiptoes, tried to push upwards, but he was already pulling away, and Kael was left wanting, frustrated, as she hurried back to the girls’ locker room.

She was forced to take a proper shower today in the large room, and being in a small chamber with a bunch of other naked girls wasn’t exactly helping. Her weird mood from before had come back with a vengeance, and she barely touched herself at all as she rinsed her sweat off and toweled dry.

When she got home, her phone pinged at her, and she spent the next half hour in the kitchen, pulling things out of the fridge, making a dozen little sandwiches and happily putting together some homemade fruit jam in tart cups, stacking everything in a box to take to school the next morning. She had dinner alone - not an uncommon thing, but it was surprising to not see either of her parents. A text from her father said they were out at a company party. When she was done eating, she went up to her rooms to work on her homework.

Partway through the evening, her phone pinged at her again. Curious, she picked it up. A message from Illidan had come through Facebook. Kael’thas grinned as she texted back.

_Hey! :) I’m just working on my homework._

_The bane of my existence. Just wanted to make sure we’re still on for tomorrow night?_

_Yeah! Absolutely!_

_Cool. We can leave straight from school if that’s good with you?_

_Sounds good to me. Dinner and a movie?_ Kael texted.

_Are we 40 years old?_

Kael blushed. Apparently the dating scene wasn’t like the movies. _Okaaay, so what are we doing instead?_

_It’s a secret._

_Illidan!_

_I told you, it’s a secret. I think you’ll like it. See you in the morning!_

Kael’thas sighed and dropped her phone on its charging pillow again, going back to her homework with a pout. “He’s so weird,” she muttered to herself out loud. “Can’t have a normal boyfriend, you had to fall for the Jockiest Jock to ever Jock. I hope he’s not taking me to Paintball or Laser tag…”

That night, she dreamed about her first date. Illidan had taken her mountain climbing, and promised he would kiss her when they reached the top, but it was taking forever, and she kept looking up and every time she looked, it seemed to get further and further away.


	4. Chapter 4

Kael woke up feeling restless, and after her usual morning routines, grabbed the extra food for lunch’s picnic and headed to the car. It was raining, so she was glad of the ride, and when they arrived at school, her driver took out the golf umbrella and walked her to the door so her box of food wouldn’t get soggy.

She thanked him before he left, and went inside the school for her first class. She was able to slide the box of food under the window next to her, and block the aisle with her bag so that no one would walk down there. Luckily, nobody tried it, and she met up with Maiev in the next class, who eagerly tried to get into the box.

“Nuh-uh, not until lunchtime.”

“Come onnnn,” Maiev whined playfully. “What’d you bring?”

“Mini-sandwiches and homemade jam tarts!”

“Oh my god you’re amazing,” the pink Night Elf praised her. “You gotta do this more often. If I blow you, will you do this every week?”

“Um...no, thank you.” Kael said quietly, and Maiev blinked.

“Uh, honey, that was just a joke,” she said, but Kael didn’t think so. “I was just being silly.”

“I know,” Kael replied, but she didn’t think it was true.

They sat in awkward silence for the rest of the class, Maiev fiddling with her pencil, clicking it incessantly, until the lesson was done and they were free to go. They made their way down to the quad, talking about anything else, and luckily it was dry enough to sit down and eat. Everyone was excited and happy to see the spread of food, and everyone complimented her on the tarts.

“It’s my dad’s secret jam recipe.” Kael beamed. “I just put it in the cups. But it’s so good! I’ll have him make another batch soon.”

“He should give lessons, cooking classes.” One of the other students was laughing. “This is so tasty!”

When it was all done, Kael divided up the leftovers, saving one tart for Illidan, and threw the garbage away before going to her next class. By the time she got to gym, she was nervous again, full of butterflies, and even though she’d been preparing for this date mentally for two days, she was still feeling dizzy.

Today was more basketball, and once again, she and Illidan made a killer team together. Where he had height, Kael was learning how to use her speed and agility to her advantage, ducking under people’s arms to steal the ball, and actually slid through someone’s legs as they jumped, stealing the basketball mid-dribble and getting away with it. Overall it was an intense session, and Illidan promised to meet her in the hallway after they were done. The other girls were congratulating her, and Maiev gave her one final ‘warning’ speech about the Dangers of Teen-Aged Pregnancies, and volunteered to show her how to put on a condom, and Kael had to beg her to stop, the room filling with laughter as she blushed up a storm.

Muttering to herself about nosy, jealous bitches (playfully!), Kael’thas fixed her still-damp hair and went to meet Illidan in the hallway.

He was standing there, leaning against the lockers, jacket open and loose around his torso, one foot on the floor, the other on the lockers. Surprisingly he wasn’t on his phone; he had his nose buried in a book. Illidan actually didn’t notice until Kael’thas took his sleeve and turned him to face her.

“Hey,” she said, mouth dry.

“Hey,” he replied, snapping the book closed and sliding it into his backpack.

_He makes even_ that _look stupidly sexy_ , Kael thought to herself, then snapped her eyes back to his face. He was grinning at her, that bastard. “So, um, are you ready to go?”

“Been ready. Waited for you. Girls always take so long.” he stretched.

“H-hey! That’s not fair!” Kael squawked, going red with anger rather than embarrassment. “I have a lot of hair! So does my dad….hey, so do _you_!” she protested. “You have long hair, you know what it’s like.”

Illidan reached down and tugged on a wet strand. “And yet you didn’t have time to dry it. Look at yourself, now back to me.” he flipped his hair. “Mine is beautiful. Yours looks like a damp mop.”

Kael squeaked with indignation and punched him in the side. Illidan laughed, then kissed her temple. It made her freeze, melting a little.

“I’m sorry. I was only teasing. It was wrong of me to insult you.” he admitted, his lips still pressed to the side of her face. Kael’s stomach and heart and head and body was all on fire, warring with itself. She couldn’t move at all. He was _right there_. “I won’t do it again.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she breathed, and he pulled away, sliding his enormous hand around hers. She squeezed and he squeezed back, gentle, mindful of his strength. “So where we goin’?”

“I told you, it’s a surprise.” he chuckled, and led her past the office out of the school. “What was your old place like?”

They talked about the city she’d lived in for a while as they walked, Kael trusting him as they went down towards the busier streets. Past the streets, though, there was signs of the nearby oceanfront, and as they crossed onto the brightly-lit boardwalk, she figured it out.

“It’s nice here.” Illidan led her to a sidewalk stand, grabbing some hot dogs. They munched as they walked, and Kael was comforted by the soothing sounds of of the waves, even as the sun began to set and the temperature dipped. Without even having to ask, Illidan dropped his jacket onto Kael’thas’ shoulders, and she smiled and hugged it tight as they went down to the water’s edge. Illidan took off his shoe and stuck his feet in the water, and Kael slipped off hers and did the same. They sat together like that, for a while, until Illidan lifted her up. Kael whooped with laughter but stopped dead when he rested her in his lap, safe with her back to his chest, between his arms.

She tilted her head back, letting it rest on his shoulder, and he brushed his cheek against hers, wrapping his arms around her. Their difference in height meant that she was completely up and out of the water, her toes air-drying above his legs, feeling his warmth all around her.

“I’ve never met a boy like you before,” Kael’thas finally broke the silence, resting her hands on his arms where they crossed over her stomach and held her in a hug.

“What’s that mean?” he inquired, rumbling from behind her, as she turned her head and boldly kissed his cheek.

“Hmm. You’re surprisingly romantic for a football-head.”

“I resent that.” he laughed. “I’m not the quarterback yet. Just an offensive. Maybe next year.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kael murmured, and Illidan turned his head, and met her lips.

They kissed. Kael let her eyes fall shut. She’d never been kissed before, not like this, and it was _so_ sweet, sweeter than she’d thought it could be. _This_ was like the movies, romantic and humble and gentle. Their mouths were still closed for the most part, and he wasn’t pushing for more, just a very soft kiss on the lips.

She reached up tentatively and put a hand on his chest, meaning to lean into him, but he immediately backed off. “I’m sorry,” he quickly apologized. “I thought you were coming in for that.”

“I was,” Kael blushed, pulling her hand back. “I just, um, I wanted to get my balance back...I wasn’t pushing you away…”

“Oh.” Illidan blinked at her, and Kael _swore_ she could see his already purple cheeks darken. Was he blushing!? “Oh, I read that the wrong way…”

Kael put her hand on his cheek and kissed him again, warmly, and he wrapped his arms around her back, letting her straddle his thighs as they kissed and kissed and _kissed_ on the beach, the sound of the waves at her back.

Finally, Kael pulled back, and Illidan let her, settling back with his hands around her lower back, just above the level of her hips. It was clear that he wasn’t moving anywhere without some kind of sign from her, probably explicit, since he took a gentle hand on his chest as an indicator to stop and move away.

Illidan licked his lips and Kael swallowed hard. “Do...do you wanna do anything else?” she murmured.

“I do,” he breathed, “but not here, not on a public beach, and not if you aren’t completely ready for it.”

Kael considered, her hands going down to play with the zip of his jacket. She was still wearing it, massive over her shoulders. She could feel the seconds tick by in silence. Illidan didn’t budge, didn’t push, didn’t protest and didn’t cajole. She was setting the pace of this.

“I think we’ve had a very nice date,” Kael finally said, after a few moments of silence, with just the noise of the waves to fill it. “And that I’d like if you could walk me home, please.”

“I’d like that, too.” Illidan smiled, and she climbed off of him, and they both got to their feet, brushing the sand off of their clothes and putting their shoes back on. “You got everything?”

“Uh huh.” she checked to make sure nothing had fallen out of her purse or pockets, and then he took her hand, and they started to walk up the boardwalk and back towards the city. Unfortunately it was too far to walk the whole way, so they hopped on one of the trolley-cars and rode it to the nearest station. From there, Illidan walked all the way back to her house with her.

He whistled low when he saw the place. “Damn, girl, you live in a mansion.” he chuckled. “I guess I should’ve expected as much, since you’re one of _the_ Sunstriders.”

“Yeah.” she grinned a little. “My parents worked _super_ hard not to spoil me, since it takes a lot of brains to run this business.”

“That’s fair. I’m glad they did such a good job. Strong, smart, really sweet…” Illidan stood in front of her at the bottom of the stairs, cupping her cheek.

“You’re too much,” Kael grinned, blushing up a storm.

“Nah, I think I’m good,” Illidan replied, leaning in.

“Wait!” Kael darted up the stairs until she was at the top. “Aha! Now I’m taller than you!”

“Cheating!” Illidan protested, but she leaned in, and kissed him from above. He obediently tilted his head back, letting her get the upper angle, eyes closed in peaceful bliss.

They kissed for a moment, then Kael straightened up, reaching behind her for the doorknob, holding on. “Have a good night.” she nodded.

“You, too.” Illidan grinned at her, turning and walking down the path to the street. She watched him go, almost until he was out of sight, then bolted into the house and up to her room, giggling up a storm and diving to her computer desk to message Maiev about it.

The back-and-forth across facebook was furious for a few minutes, with Kael basically unloading every detail - _his kisses taste so good_ \- and Maiev being both patient and excited for her. After about fifteen minutes, the excitement had died down a little and they were talking about school stuff, when another message window popped up - this one from Illidan.

_Hey_!

_Oh, hey! Did you get home safe?_ Kael responded.

_Sure did. My brother wanted me to let you know that he approved of the state you sent me home in_ , the message read.

Kael laughed. _All worked up and no place to go? I’m sorry._ She typed, then backspaced. _I’m happy that you didn’t pressure me or anything. Thank you._

_I wanted to make you feel safe. We were pretty far out, and even though the beach is public, it’s pretty deserted at night. If I took you some place you didn’t want to go…_

_No, it was great! I had a wonderful time, and I definitely wanna do more stuff with you._ She paused. _Stuff like...I eventually wanna_ Kael paused for a long time, blushing, trying to figure out how to tell him she wanted to lose her virginity to him. _wanna have sex, just not today._

_It’s all cool. If you wanna, that’s good, if you don’t wanna, that’s fine too, I promise_ . His message popped up. _The state you sent me home in, by the way, he meant, ‘safe’. Not ‘horny’._

Kael laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth and hope her parents didn’t hear her. Her rooms were a suite down the second-floor hallway at the back of the house, but that didn’t mean she could make a racket and be ignored. _Did he think I was gonna beat you up or something?_

_I don’t know what goes through that green head of his sometimes. I’ll have to introduce you on Monday. He’s not in any of our classes and he’s in the library at lunchtimes. I think you’ll like him._

_That would be cool_ , she typed. Kael considered, then, taking a breath, continued: _Did I send you home horny, though?_

_If you insist on asking - yeah, a little. Nothing I can’t take care of by myself, though. No pressure._

Her heart sped up in her chest a little. _Take care of? Have you taken care of it yet?_

_Curious little thing, aren’t you? Not yet. I have a feeling you’re gonna ask another question, so go ahead._

_I don’t_ she typed _I don’t um wanna watch, I don’t think, just in case my parents come in but...can you_ she flicked her eyes back to her door _describe it? Tell me what you’re doing?_

_Sounds like fun. Did you want me to talk through Facebook chat or text?_

_Oh, probably text is better._ She quickly texted him her phone number, then hopped out of her computer chair and shut it down, hurrying to her bedroom. This was the only room that had a lock, so she locked her door, laying the phone on her bedside table while she got into her pajamas, settling cross-legged on her bed.

He’d already sent her a text by the time she made herself comfy against her pillows, holding her phone, turned on more than she thought she’d be. _I’m all ready for the night, laying in bed, I just wear pants,_ he had texted _and they’re down to my knees right now. I like to go slow at first, put my hand around my dick and stroke for a while._

Kael was sweating, her palms slippery as she texted back, regretting telling him to not send pictures or video. She wanted to see him do it. Still, the image she was painting in her head was pretty good, too. _I’m in bed too._ She wasn’t sure how to respond, but she wanted him to continue. _That’s pretty hot._

_I’m already pretty hard again,_ his next message read, _my dick is leaking so I’m sticky and wet. I got some lube so it’s easier to move, squeezing and stroking._

Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she squirmed in the bed, finally moving one hand down between her thighs, pressing up against her aching pelvis through her pajama bottoms. _Fuck that’s hot. Please tell me more._ It was longer with one hand, but the pressure felt good, and she rubbed, whimpering as the hot, good, sticky feeling kept building and building.

_It won’t take me long, thinking about you. I want to pretend it’s your hand, you’re jacking me off, making me feel this good._ Her cheeks burned as she read it, gasping, hips stammering into her rubbing hand, almost humping herself. The seam of her pants was rubbing against her perfectly, a cottony drag that was becoming more and more slick as it went back and forth, up and down. She knew the anatomical names for her body, from sex ed, but they hadn’t talked about how _good_ it felt just to have a damn rub once in a while. _I’m going to cum and you’re gonna make me cum._

_I want you to cum for me_ , Kael typed with a shaking hand, her other one nearly fisting the fabric as she went faster and faster. She’d masturbated before, but it had never been this intense, and she thought that this time, maybe this time, she’d actually cum from it. The only time she’d ever cum before was when she took the opportunity last year to sit on the laundry machines for a while. It was intense, but more of a feeling - this time, she was experiencing lust and desire in her whole body, rather than just manual stimulation of her clit. _I want you to cum all over yourself for me_.

Even as she typed it, she could feel herself getting close, and she dropped her phone to use both hands on herself, gasping and turning her head sideways to try and muffle her yell of pleasure as she came, shuddering against her hands, knees clamped together as wave after wave of hot pleasure ripped through her body, pulsing outward from between her hips and her lower belly. She lay there for a moment, whimpering, recovering, before wiping a sticky-wet hand on her blankets and groping for her phone.

_I came all over my stomach and it was so hot, thinking about you telling me to cum like that,_ Illidan had typed, _there’s so much mess. I have to clean it up, thanks to you._

Kael whimpered as she moved, aftershocks shooting through her as the seam of her soaked pajama bottoms pulled against her clit again. She tried not to let it touch her too much, as the cool, wet sensation was no longer pleasant. She pulled them off with one hand while she typed her response, tossing them onto the floor for laundry this weekend. _I came too. I soaked through my pajamas…_

_That’s so hot._ His response was immediate, followed by _I’m so happy you felt OK with us doing this. It was fun! And the date was so good, the most relaxed I’ve been all week. Thank you again._

_Me too,_ she smiled and hunkered down in bed, turning out the light. _I can’t wait to see you again on Monday. Have a good night._

_You, too. Sleep well, sweet dreams!_


	5. Chapter 5

Saturday morning felt like a hangover. Kael crawled out of bed late, dumping her clothes in the laundry basket and taking a quick shower before getting dressed and pulling out her homework as she nibbled on her breakfast dish. Luckily it was still just the first week of classes, and as such, didn’t have much to do.

The house was quiet for the most part. She could hear the vacuum cleaner pass outside the door, at around 11:30, the usual time the cleaners went. Their house had daily maid service, but once a week had the full, professional clean. It was one step down from a mansion, practically, and she had had the movers help her set up all her things.

Glancing out of the window, Kael took stock of the weather. It looked nice, maybe she’d have time for a walk later that day. She _did_ want to get to know the neighborhood, anyway.

When she was finished her homework, Kael shut down her computer and unplugged her phone, going downstairs to the kitchen. It was empty, and she took a few minutes to pack herself a lunch, texting her parents that she was going out for an afternoon walk, and locked the door behind her, stepping out into the bright, late-summer sun.

It was hot, but not oppressively so, as Kael’thas wandered down the street. They were on a cul-de-sac at the top of a hill, their community not quite gated, but close. It was very green - lots of lawns, lots of trees making natural fences. She headed down the way she’d come with Illidan last night, curious and exploring. She’d always loved travelling to exotic destinations and setting out on her own. This summer they’d gone to a city in the mountains and she’d spent every day climbing. It was almost as fun as the summer she’d been able to ride horses all day. She was sore every night, but it was so amazing to run and be so fast.

Her phone buzzed at her. Illidan had sent her a selfie of himself from his morning run. _Eww, sweaty teenage boys_ , Kael texted back with a laugh. _Mind you, I’m the one out walking during the hottest hours of the day._

_Hey, if you want some company, we could walk together._

_I’d like that!_ Kael pulled open the maps application on her phone and found the nearest major intersection. _Can we meet up here? Or is that too far away?_

_I’ll be there in ten. See you soon!_

Kael felt giddy as she walked to the intersection, settling on the transit station’s bench and waiting. Within a few moments, a bus pulled up and Illidan hopped off the back, looking around.

Kael got up, waving, grinning and walking over to him. “Hey.” she said, heart still thumping in her chest. Everything that happened last night was replaying in her head.

“Hey yourself.” he teased, looking down at her. He looked very casual today - tight t-shirt that showed off all his muscles, and cargo shorts. When Kael’thas glanced down, she noticed his legs were absolutely hairless. _What?_ Night elves had body hair, didn’t they?

“I do a lot of swimming.” Illidan noticed her staring, and laughed. Kael blushed and whipped her head back up to look him in the face. “So yeah, I tend to shave down my whole body. Would you like to see?” he teased, curling a finger under her chin.

Kael felt her heart beating in her ears, she was blushing so hard. “M-maybe later,” she stammered, shaking her head, away from his hand. She was too embarrassed to speak properly, so Illidan just gently offered her his hand to hold, and she took it.

“I should take you downtown, and we could check out the mall. See what’s on sale. Or what’s new, I guess.” he suggested with a smile, leading her further down the hill towards a more heavily-built area with taller buildings. “I’m not saying you have to buy me anything, of course.”

Kael rolled her eyes. “I can’t buy the entire mall for you, but I _am_ allowed to buy things if I like. No shopping sprees for a boy I just met.”

“Damn.” he snapped his fingers, pretending to pout. “And here I was hoping you’d empty out the Champs for me.”

“I’m not your sugar momma!” Kael bumped him lightly, and he bumped her back, and they were laughing and playfully bumping back and forth for a block and a half before they had to settle down because there were more people around. The streets became crowded and busy, and Illidan paused before scooping Kael’thas up and putting her on his shoulders.

“Ahhh! Warn a person first!” Kael scolded him, clutching at his head. He gave her a hand to hold instead, and she slowly wobbled back to her balance. “Woah, I can see my house from here!”

“No you can’t, I’m not _that_ tall,” Illidan licked the inside of her calf, making her squeal and kick a little before he steadied her, grabbing her legs and keeping them still. “And quit squirming up there. You’ll hit someone.”

“You _licked_ my leg, you gross dog!” Kael was laughing, playing with his hair as they walked through the busy downtown streets. “You’re such a weirdo. I like you.” his hair was half up, half-down today, with a ponytail dividing his massive amount of so-blue-it-looked-black hair.

“I like you too, you weirdo.” Illidan teased. They only walked like that for a few more moments before Illidan let go of her leg to point out an enormous building with high, fancy glass paneling. “That’s the biggest mall in the city, definitely the richest one. I’ll let you down when we get closer.”

“To the mall, my mighty steed!” Kael cheered, raising her fist in the air. She could hear him laughing from between her thighs.

“As you command, my queen.” he continued up the sidewalk. Kael fell silent for a moment. The word didn’t settle right with her. _Queen_. King, maybe? Whatever, she didn’t feel like royalty.

She hadn’t realized they’d made the rest of the trip in silence until Illidan was lowering her down, next to the mall’s shiny entrance doors. He had a serious face. “Kael’thas, are you okay? You haven’t said anything for a while.”

“Huh? Oh, no, I’m all right. Sorry, I guess I got lost in my own head for a while.” she took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly, as they headed into the revolving doors.

The inside of the mall was heavily air-conditioned, and the sweat that had been worked up along her face and legs immediately made her chilly. Kael was shivering until Illidan pulled her aside and began to clean her up with a towel from his bag.

“Here, I always bring a couple of these when I run. This one’s clean, I promise!” he laughed. “I didn’t need it this morning.”

He was down on his knees in front of her as he cleaned her up, against the glass wall, hundreds of people passing them by without a glance in their direction. She felt as though she was being watched, but no one was even looking at them. It was intense, having him kneeling before her, even if he was doing something so innocent.

Illidan seemed to pick up on her feeling of discomfort, because he quickly finished up and stood, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand as he took it once more.

“Ready to go?”

“Uh huh.”

They headed down into the mall proper, using the escalators to access the floor below them. It was full of people hurrying in every direction. “Is it always this busy?”

“It’s worse at Christmastime. Saturday afternoon during back-to-school season? We’re lucky it’s not overpacked.” he grinned at her.

They poked into a few stores. Illidan picked up a new pair of runner’s headphones, the kind that curved behind his long, pointed ears and settled in place without falling out. Kael’thas was ready to head into the Gap and look for some new jeans when Illidan pulled her into the Hot Topic.

“Oh god, really?” she groaned, but he picked up a fuzzy thing off a shelf and put it on her head.

“Come on, don’t you like her? She’s cute.”

“She?” she tugged the fuzzy thing off. It appeared to be some sort of plush critter.

“You haven’t heard of Pusheen?” Illidan grinned.

“What’s a Pusheen? Is that like Pokemon? I kind of stopped playing lately…”

“No, she’s not a Pokemon. She’s a cat. Uh, it’s an internet thing. You know about the internet right?”

“I have a Facebook!”

“That’s barely the internet! That’s like, Level 1 of the internet.”

“Oh really, and how many levels are there?”

“About a million.”

“Oh, really.”

“Uh huh.”

Kael’thas rolled her eyes, but examined the stuffed animal in her hands. It was the size of a small pillow, and bright green. “If it’s a cat, why does she look like this?”

He pointed to the spikes along her back. “She’s not just Pusheen, she’s a Pusheen-o-saurus. You know. Like a dinosaur. Roar!” he made claws with his hands and pulled a scary face.

Kael bapped him in the face with the plushie and smiled, tucking it under her arm. “Fine, I can get the Pusheen-o-saurus. She’s kind of cute.”

“Kind of? Oh man, do I have _so_ much stuff to show you…”

Kael smiled to herself as she browsed the shelves. There was nothing usually in Hot Topic that she wanted, but Illidan was grabbing a bunch of things. “Are you an ex-scene kid?” she teased him as he inspected a tin of glitter eye make-up.

“You say ‘ex’ like it’s a bad thing.”

“So you were!”

“You say ‘ex’ like it’s a thing that _ends_.”

“Oh my god, Illidan Stormrage, you are a _weirdo_.”

“We’re all weirdos.” he kissed her cheek. “A man has to maintain his perfect, ethereal look _somehow_.”

“Oh, fine.” she grinned, and headed up to the cash with him. The piercing-covered young man seemed to recognize Illidan, and cheerfully checked him out. He seemed taken aback at Kael’s look - blond and preppy - but when Illidan gave him a cross look, he quickly gave her the same membership discount as the tall Night Elf had just gotten.

“Pusheen is an expensive date.” she looked at her receipt as they walked out. Even with fifteen percent off, the plushie hadn’t been cheap.

“I’m an expensive date.” Illidan boasted, offering her his hand again. She took it, happily, walking with him. In the middle of the mall there was a fountain, and both of them settled on a bench to watch it. Kael pulled out her cell phone; there was a text from her mother telling her to have a good walk, but no other messages.

“Let’s take a selfie,” Illidan suggested, and Kael smiled, and they both turned their backs to the fountain. He held out his hand, and took her phone. His arm was longer, massively so, and he got a good angle before snapping a photo. Then, before he could give it back to her, Kael turned and kissed his cheek. He startled, but laughed, and Kael could hear the shutter of her phone go a few more times.

Illidan moved back, showing her the photos. She was blushing a bit in the one where she was kissing him, but he looked elated, so she was pleased. “Um, thank you.” she grinned.

“My pleasure. I’m gonna grab an ice cream cone. You want one? My treat.” he offered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the Baskin Robbins.

“Sure! Mint chocolate chip, please!”

“No way, that’s my favourite flavour!”

“Oh, be serious.”

“I am! Well, that, and chocolate fudge brownie.”

“Mmmm…”

Kael busied herself with her phone while Illidan went off to get the ice cream. She tucked the bags with their purchases between her ankles, to prevent them from being kicked in the aisle, and posted the selfie of the non-kissing photo to her Facebook page. The other ones she kept private, smiling to herself as she swiped through them.

He returned in a few moments with two small cones of ice cream, and Kael’thas curled into his side as she ate hers. He put an arm around her, warm and snuggly, and she rested her head on his chest, slowly demolishing the mint chocolate chip.

“This is so great. You’re just...I feel so relaxed around you.” Kael admitted, glancing up.

Illidan licked his cone. “I pride myself on being pretty chill. If I’m ever being too intense for you, I know it makes you blush, but please tell me and I’ll stop right away, okay?”

“Okay.” she snuggled again, continuing to eat. The fountain in front of them was hypnotic in its movements, and she found herself yawning a bit. “Mmmph. I could have a nap…”

“We could go back to my place and rest.” Illidan offered lightly, casual. “I have more pillows in my room than any girl I’ve ever known.”

“That sounds so cozy…” Kael agreed, not really focused. “Let’s do that.”

“Here, lemme carry those.” Illidan picked up all the bags, and Kael laughed in amusement as he flexed with every single bag on his arms.

“Wow, so strong!” she clapped, and he flexed again, growling a little. Kael laughed gaily and stood up, stretching and putting a hand on his arm, walking at his side through the crowds. They headed up to a different floor.

“There’s a bus line that runs here past my house.” he explained as they waited in the terminal. “It’s an express that runs from the mall to waaay out in the sticks, so we only need to go one stop and get off. My house is down the block from the first stop.”

“Awesome.” Kael’thas rested against him until the bus came, then helped pay the fare (his hands were full of bags, after all), and they found some seats. Illidan talked about how he’d learned the bus system of the city as a child, and Kael was excited to try and learn it for herself so she could get around without having to rely on a driver being nosy.

They got off at a station, and Illidan led her up the street. This cul-de-sac was smaller, but the houses were still nice-looking, and had big yards. Once inside, he put down the bags and started emptying the ones that belonged to him. He left hers on the kitchen counter by the door. “Come on, my room’s upstairs.” he called over his shoulder, and Kael took off her shoes before following him through the kitchen and into the hall, then up a flight of stairs and to the back of the house.

Illidan’s room was amazing. There was no other word for it, Kael thought to herself as she entered. His room was painted in soft shades of green and blue, and when he turned the lights on, she could see why: the walls were painted like the top of a forest, with the edges and ceiling the blue of an open sky. “I used to have glow-in-the-dark stars up there as a kid,” he chuckled. “Took ‘em down a few  years ago, but I love the paint job, so I left it as-is.” he put his things away on top of the desk. “Sorry about the mess.”

It was disorganized, but not dirty, and certainly didn’t look like the expected teenage boy room she’d been dreading. It had things everywhere, but the bed was enormous - king-sized? - and simply covered in pillows and blankets. It looked more like a nest than a bed, and Kael sank into it gratefully, yawning.

Illidan came over and began fussing, fixing some of the pillows and pulling the curtains so that the room darkened, before turning out the light. The afternoon sun seeped around the edges, but it was dark enough that Kael felt herself drifting almost immediately. She reached out, and Illidan wrapped her in his arms. Tucking her head against his chest, she nuzzled close.

He smelled like cinnamon and pine. “Don’ let me sleep too long,” she murmured, “or I won’t sleep well tonight.”

“I’ll wake you up in an hour,” Illidan promised, stroking her hair. That did it, she was out. No one had been so tender with her since she was a baby, so gentle and loving. Her parents were good to her, but she was starved for physical affection, and Illidan was so willing to give it to her…


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, just a heads up that this chapter is why this story has an E rating. Things to back to T after this.

Kael slept easily and well in his bed. The pillows and blankets were a comfortable resting place, and Illidan’s warm, easy touches made her feel safe. When she woke up, it was to him gently rubbing her back and reminding her of her request to be brought back. Kael yawned and stretched, already feeling better as Illidan sat up and opened the curtains. Sunlight made her fully conscious as she lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling for a moment.

Illidan lay back down beside her, one arm cast lazily over her belly.

It suddenly occurred to her that this was the bed he jerked off in last night.

A massive wave of heat stabbed her in the lower belly and flooded her cheeks with a violent blush, and she sat up quickly.

“Kael? Something wrong?” Illidan asked, looking up at her in surprise.

“I, uh...I probably shouldn’t be here.” she said, playing with her fingers nervously.

“Have I made you uncomfortable?” he sat up too. “I’m sorry if I have…”

“No, I just...this is your bed...room. Your bed. I shouldn’t, um…”

Illidan just smiled. “All we did was nap. We don’t have to do anything else. I promise.”

“You invited me home and I just climbed into your bed!”

“Kael’thas Sunstrider, you looked tired and I wanted to give you a safe place to go.” Illidan said, calmly and soothingly. “I meant nothing else by it.”

She felt a little silly, but laid back down. He did the same, his hair soft against the pillows. “I guess I overreacted. I’m sorry. I was just...thinking too much.”

“It’s all right. I’m not wounded.” Illidan laughed, leaning close and nuzzling her nose. Kael melted, then pushed forward a little more, and kissed him.

They kissed lazily for a moment or two, and then Kael put her arm around his shoulder and rolled over into him, and Illidan scooped her up behind her waist and pulled her on top of him.

She was dizzy for a moment, dizzy with the surprising surge of lust that rolled through her, and she boldly rolled her hips down against his. Illidan groaned, and jerked up, and she felt a hard bulge in his pants, and it only made her more excited, more fascinated.

“I wanna see,” she pulled back, pushing herself up on her arms. Illidan nodded, breathless, scooting back a bit to give himself more space. Kael licked her lips as she watched him sit up and peel off his t-shirt, and then start to undo his shorts. She stared as his hands took down the zipper. Time seemed to slow down as he spread the top of his cargo shorts open, exposing the now-larger bulge in his underwear. She forced herself to breathe, to swallow, as he pushed down the elastic waistband, and time either sped back up or she didn’t know what she was looking at, because the next thing she knew, his cock had slipped out, popped up, bounced to lay up against his lower belly, thick and swollen and flushed dark, dark indigo. The tip was slick, already leaking against his skin.

It was bigger than she thought, but not as big as she’d feared. Tentatively, Kael’thas reached out and put her hand on top, palm down, curling her fingers around it. Illidan moaned out of her field of view; she was completely focused on his cock. Her pulse hammered in her ears as she rubbed it, up and down, just a little, squeezing, getting a feel for the weight of it, the size of it in her hand.

She was so hyperfixated that she didn’t notice what Illidan was saying until she felt a hand on her arm.

“Stop,” he was telling her, “you’re rubbing dry and that hurts.”

“Oh.” she pulled her hand back, mortified, ears drooping. “I, uh…” did she really have to say it out loud? Surely he must have guessed it by now. “I’ve, uh, I’ve never done this before.”

“It’s okay.” Illidan reassured her, pulling back to shift his hips and completely remove the rest of his clothing. He was naked in the bed; she was fully clothed. It was his house. She had all the power to get up and walk away if she wanted to. “If you want to keep touching me, I can get you some lubricant.”

“Sure, okay.” Kael nodded, swallowing. Illidan leaned over the side of the bed, cock bobbing and drooling between his legs, and Kael snuck a peek. There was a locked drawer at the head of the bed that he pulled open. Inside was a treasure trove of all kinds of weird and wonderful things she’d never seen in real life before. He grabbed a little bottle of something and closed the drawer just as she spotted what looked like a massive version of his own cock.

“Is...is that a dildo? Why do you have a dildo?” she stared at the closed drawer.

Illidan laughed. “Hey, sometimes a dude likes to be penetrated too. My partner can put that on, or fuck me with it, or I can just sit on it and jerk off. I’ve got lots of stuff in there. We can check it out together if you like.”

“Maybe later,” she cast her eyes back to him. He opened up the little bottle, pouring some on to his cock and demonstrating, explaining how he liked to be touched. “And you can put your hands anywhere on me you like,” he offered. “I’d prefer if you avoided my neck, though. I’m kind of sensitive up there and it hurts if you squeeze.”

“Okay.” she tried to commit it all to memory as she moved closer, sitting between his spread legs, and starting to stroke his cock. Kael moved to sit sideways, pressing her ear to his chest, listening to his heart beating, his chest heaving as he breathed, and felt one of his arms go around her, holding her tight. The other hand was behind him for balance. “I want - I want to make you cum like this, I want to see what it looks like. Is that okay?” she looked up at his face, nervous. This was _technically_ having sex, or at least, some manner of sex, but was she depriving him of the sex he wanted if she was still clothed and not letting him penetrate her?

“Sounds good to me,” his grin was eager, excited, and she looked back down again, watching the way his cock twitched and dribbled in her grip, slick with lubricant and his own precum. Up and down, up and down. Squeezing. The head of his cock was large and round, puffy and swollen. There was a ridge underneath the top, like a mushroom on the end of a stalk. She curled her first finger and thumb around that ridge, tightening them. Illidan’s hips jerked and the arm around her tightened. “Fuck, that’s good. Keep going, just like that…” he praised her. Kael’s ears burned, flushed and pleased with the praise, and so she continued, rubbing her thumb into the oozing slit on the top of his cock, teasing and playing with the soft-hard flesh.

“Can I...can I taste it?” she breathed, hardly more than a whisper.

“Oh - sure, go ahead,” Illidan panted above her head, and she leaned in, a little tentative kitten-lick at the head. It was salty, a little weird-tasting, but not bad. Filling her mouth with saliva, she moved her hand down and opened her jaw as wide as she could, putting her tongue right to the head and lapping, letting the tip ride against the inside of her mouth. Illidan was cursing up a storm above her head, and Kael giggled to herself, pleased that she was able to make him lose control like that. She was drooling a little, but it was okay, because she was able to use that to get her hand moving more easily.

“Kael,” he was pulling her off, and both of them were panting, “Kael I’m gonna cum soon. You wanted to see it, right? Sit back.”

She quickly nodded, leaning against his chest once more, and his hand snaked down to join hers, their fingers weaving together around his cock as he showed her the right speed and pressure.

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum, I’m gonna -” his hips were rocking up and down, like he was fucking something, thrusting into their joined hands. “Kael, gonna cum-!” Illidan panted, and Kael squeezed him really hard, pulling upward, and Illidan cried out. As she watched, a spurt of white liquid shot out of the tip of his cock, landing on his stomach. She kept stroking, and more gobs of it pumped up, the last few oozing slowly. When he finally relaxed - he’d been locked up, muscles so tense he’d been trembling - Kael let go of his cock, trailing her fingers through the sticky mess all over his lower belly. There was a lot of it, more than she’d thought there’d be, and she scooped up a fingerful and licked it. Kael wrinkled her nose; this was kind of bitter, more flavour than the stuff had been from before. She’d heard of girls and boys sucking cock and loving the taste; maybe they used some kind of flavouring or something.

“You okay?” Illidan cupped her cheek, stroking her hair, tucking it back behind her ear. His face was flushed, sweaty, but he looked happy.

Kael grinned at him, pink in the cheeks. “Yeah, I’m good. That was so cool! And so hot…” she wiped her hand on his chest and he laughed, reaching over and grabbing a box of tissues. They cleaned him up for a minute in silence.

“Did you want to try anything else? It’ll take a bit before we can do this again,” Illidan chuckled, gently brushing his hand over his limp, spent cock. Kael had watched it deflate back to a rather normal-looking size. “It’s okay if you don’t. You’ve already done a lot today.”

“Um…” she wanted him to touch her, wanted to feel those strong hands on her body, but her jaw locked when she tried to say it. It was just so embarrassing. “I...I want…”

“If you’re having trouble saying it out loud, here.” he passed her a notebook - little more than a pad of sticky notes - and a pen from the bedside table. “Write it down. I use this whenever I’ve got a great idea but can’t be bothered to get up and get to my computer.” he chuckled.

Kael grabbed it and scribbled furiously, not making eye contact. _I want you to touch me all over. I want you to grab and squeeze my body. I want you to suck my nipples. I want you to put your fingers and your mouth on my pussy. I want to cum like that._ She took a breath, closed her eyes, and handed the notepad back to Illidan.

With her eyes tightly shut, she couldn’t see his face, but she could hear him murmur something to himself, and chuckle softly. “That sounds like fun for me, absolutely.” he said, gently putting a hand on her hip. “But I’m going to need you to look at me. I need to see that you’re okay with this.”

She forced herself to take a few deep breaths, then opened her eyes. Illidan’s face was kindly, warm, affectionate. No judgement, no scorn, no smirking. Just someone who wanted her to have a good time.

“This has to come off, first.” he helped her with her shirt, letting her have her moment of shyness as he kissed her shoulders. Kael shook as his fingers opened the hooks of her bra effortlessly, and tugged it off, leaving her breasts naked to his eyes. Illidan moved down, lowering his head, kissing the swell of her chest before sealing his hot lips around her nipple and flicking his tongue over it.

The heat that had abated in her lower belly came back with a vengeance, stabbing between her thighs and making her ache, sweating and leaking into her panties as Illidan sucked and played with her nipples for a few more minutes. She petted his hair, jerky, trembling hands betraying her desire and pleasure.

Once both of them were tingling with pleasure, he pulled away from her top and knelt between her legs, undoing her jeans. Kael lifted her hips as he patiently removed them, then lowered his hand and cupped her through her panties. _Fuck_. His fingers were hard, thick, solid and warm against her, but he was still teasing, and she wanted more. She wanted his mouth on her, right now, wanted to feel what it was like for that hot, slippery tongue against her clit.

He seemed content to tease, so Kael pushed her hands down to her panties, insistently tugging them off. Illidan chuckled. “Impatient, are we?” He helped her, removing them completely, letting them over the side of the bed to join their clothing in a pile. Now they were both naked, and even as he went to lay down between her thighs, Kael swore that she could see his cock starting to swell up again. Her heart hammered in her chest as she watched his head slowly sink down her body, kissing her stomach. His wet lips pressed open-mouthed kisses past her hips, down, down, down…

The second his tongue slipped between her pussy lips, Kael’s head went back into the pillows. Holy fuck, that was good. It was better than her fingers, better than the stupid washing machine. It was _moving_ and independent of her, and that was somehow better, unpredictable, hot and slick and slippery, going up to her clit and making her whole body pulse with heat before going back down and pushing at her hole. She shivered, not completely pleasantly, wondering why that felt weird. Maybe because it was so soft? His fingers would feel better, she was sure of it, and she slid a hand down to his hair and dragged his head back up to her clit. “Stay there,” she ordered hoarsely, and he obeyed, focusing his attention completely on her clit. Kael could feel her whole body tensing up, gasping as he did something else with his mouth, tongue flicking up and down so fast she couldn’t keep track of the strokes, over and over, building to an impossible heat, pushing her to the brink so quickly that she couldn’t even warn him, just sobbed as she came against his mouth, jerking, pleasure making her dizzy, pulsing and throbbing, her whole body so sensitive she could feel the different textures of pillows and blankets underneath her.

Illidan gently lapped at her until she pushed his head away, panting, trembling and jerking from overstimulation, need to get her breath back. She watched him as he knelt back up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His lower face was shiny and slick and he was grinning from ear to ear. “You okay?” he asked.

“Uh huh, uh huh,” Kael panted, and then cast her eyes down. _Oh_. He was rock-hard again, ready to go, and she wanted him, _oh_ she wanted him. “I want your cock,” she whispered, emboldened by her orgasm, her inhibitions swept away by the pleasure. “I want you to fuck me.”

“Fuck yes,” Illidan spent a second pulling out a box of condoms from his drawer, opening one and putting it on quickly, before moving back to her and gently spreading her legs again, getting her more comfy on the pillows. “You sure?” he asked, confirming, as he gently rubbed the head of his covered cock against her pussy lips.

“Fuck me,” Kael repeated, lifting her hips, feeling the hardness of his arousal as it parted her pussy lips just a little, not quite inside of her yet. She wanted it so bad, wanted to feel it, wanted to feel him. She had never been so turned on in her life, and she positively _ached_. “Fuck me _now_.”

Illidan pushed. Kael felt that hardness moving, and it parted her lips again and found her hungry, needy hole, and opened her up. She was relaxed from her orgasm, slick and wet, and despite all the rumours that virgins couldn’t take a cock without pain, when he bottomed out inside her, all she felt was intense pleasure. Her inner walls were stretched, and the way he was rubbing against everything was making her see stars.

“You okay?” he breathed, holding still. She could feel him trembling above her. Surely he wanted to move, to thrust, to fill her up. With the condom on she knew there was only a very, very tiny chance of her getting pregnant - something like, one in a hundred or something - but the thought of him wanting to _breed_ her, suddenly filled her head, and she lifted her legs and wrapped them tight around his hips, drawing him even deeper. Illidan groaned like a broken man, and Kael whimpered, her arms around his shoulders, nuding at his ear with her mouth.

“ _Fuck me_ ,” she ordered him one last time, and he withdrew and _thrust_. Her head snapped back into the pillows again as he began to fuck her properly, in and out, his cock so hard, so thick and hot and heavy inside her, solid, pushing on her soft, tight walls. “Oh, oh, oh-”

Illidan buried his face in her shoulder, thrusting hard and fast, and it was just too intense for her. Her nails scratched down his back as he fucked her, tight and hard, hips snapping like a tight rubber band pulled over and over, “Illidan, Illidan, Illidan-” gasping his name, eyes crossing, but it wasn’t enough, it was good and she was _so close_ but it wasn’t enough, and then she felt his hand go down between them and rub _hard_ against her clit, like he was smearing paint, and like that she was coming, coming _hard_ , so hard, harder than before, squeezing and clenching, all her muscles rippling, feeling her teeth chatter together, her release so intense that she was limp after, feeling him only vaguely, hearing him call something that sounded like her name and slowing to a stop above her before gathering her up in his arms and holding her tightly.

She lost track of time, of what was happening, but suddenly Illidan wasn’t on top of her anymore, he was beside her, snuggled at her side, his arm around her stomach, nose buried in her hair, both of them shivering and trembling.

“Wh...what happened?” she managed, her tongue thick with exhaustion.

“We finished,” Illidan teased breathlessly. “You came all over me and it was so hot that I couldn’t stop myself. That’s what condoms are for,” he pointed out, tickling her side. Kael wriggled and giggled helplessly for a few seconds and then he kissed her cheek. “You still feeling okay?”

“I feel amazing. Tiiiired.” she laughed, closing her eyes again. Illidan let go of her for a moment, then hugged her again.

“I set an alarm. We can nap for another hour.” he suggested. “It’s not even three o’clock yet.”

 _Good, plenty of time to recover before dinner._ Kael tucked her head against his chest. She was still too wrapped up in her haze of post-orgasmic pleasure to know if she was sore, but she didn’t really care, and she was fast asleep in moments.


	7. Chapter 7

She awoke to Illidan gently stroking and tickling her side. Kael’thas squirmed luxuriously in the blankets and half-glared up at him, pouting.

“No tickles,” she complained, and he laughed and kissed her. They kissed a few times, then Illidan sat up.

“We should wash up.” he pointed out. “There’s a bathroom just down the hall.”

“Ooh.” She looked down. They were still a mess. She was a bit sticky and flushed. Illidan helped her peel off the blankets - he stuffed them into a laundry basket and laughed it off, saying that “next time he’d lay down a plastic sheet first”.

They scurried down to the bathroom and Kael sat on the closed toilet lid while Illidan ran a hot shower and got out some extra towels. “Are we really gonna shower together?” Kael inquired, even as Illidan stepped under the hot spray and reached out a hand to her.

“Yeah, to save water,” he teased. “Now get in.”

The hot shower felt so good on her skin, and Illidan was wet against her back for a moment before stepping away. It was less sexy and more awkward to wash with two people in a small tub-shower, but Illidan being playful and warm still made it feel really nice. She felt a little embarrassed when he cupped her pussy between her legs and washed her a little more thoroughly. She had some quick hot slippery flashes of pleasure, but he was merely cleaning her up, and she felt much better when they stepped out to dry off.

“You can dry your hair first,” Illidan suggested, plugging in the hair-dryer for her. “I’ll go and get dressed.”

“Thanks.” Kael began to dry her hair, still wrapped in the towel, watching herself in the mirror. She grinned to her reflection. She didn’t feel any different, didn’t look any different. No weirdness, no pain at all.

The door opened and just as Kael was about to turn and hand over the hair dryer, she realized it wasn’t Illidan.

With a screech of surprise, she jumped back, wobbling and slipping into the bathtub, pulling the curtain.

“Ahh! Ahhh! I’m sorry!” the intruder was covering his eyes and retreating. “Fuck, I’m sorry! I thought you were Illidan!”

“A-are you Mal?” she inquired. She knew Illidan had a brother. Mal-something, the one dating Xavius, the boy she’d heard about the other day. Or the girl? She couldn’t remember.

“Malfurion Stormrage.” he replied on the other side of the curtain. “Illidan’s twin brother. I’m so sorry. I’ll go back to my room. Tell Illidan to let me know when it’s safe,” he laughed weakly, and she heard the bathroom door open and close again. Her heart still pounding, she finished drying her hair swiftly and booked it back to Illidan’s room.

He was working on something at his desk.

“Illidan!” she hissed, pink to the tips of her ears, “your brother saw me in the bathroom!”

“You had a towel on, didn’t you?” Illidan turned around and smiled at her. She glowered at him. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize he was home either. Quiet as a mouse, that one.”

She began pulling on her clothes, deflated a bit. “I should probably get going soon.”

“You don’t have to go.” Illidan came over and sat down next to her. His hair had mostly towel-dried by now, laying limp and flat against his back. “Why don’t you stay for dinner?”

“I don’t know.” she finished getting dressed, scrolling through her texts. Nothing from her parents since the confirmation she was out for a walk.

“Is there any reason you shouldn’t?” he lay on his back in front of her, looking up. He looked small, vulnerable like that. A stretch of violet skin showed above his jeans and below his t-shirt, and she traced the edge of it, before pulling back and looking at his face. He was smiling, but it was more of an unsure thing, not a smirk.

“I don’t know,” she repeated. “I just...I don’t know how my parents will react to me going so fast like this. I mean, we just met on Monday.”

“You shouldn’t lie to them,” he pointed out, nuzzling her thigh until she started petting him like a cat, “But at the same time, they don’t have to know every detail. Staying for dinner can literally just mean staying for dinner.”

“I guess.” she tucked a strand of his hair behind his long ear and picked up her phone again. “Oh, you should let Mal know that he can stop cowering in his room and he’s allowed to use the bathroom now.”

Illidan burst out laughing, then got off the bed and headed out of the room. Kael grinned, tapping out a message that she had met up with Illidan on her walk and she would be staying for dinner. Looking down, she realized only now that he’d already changed the sheets on his bed and stacked the pillows and blankets in a more organized nest-like fashion. She stretched out and impulsively, took a selfie of her in his bed, grinning from ear to ear. She was scrolling through Facebook when Illidan came back in, his hair now dry and tied back in a long tail.

“Hey, so, are you staying?” he had his phone in his hand. “Mom just called and said she’d be home in about an hour. Wanted to know if she was making dinner for five or for six.”

“I’m staying. Wait, six?” she sat up, blinking in confusion. “You and your brother, and your mother and father, and me…”

“And Xavius. He’s coming over too.” Illidan nodded, coming and sprawling next to her.

Kael laughed and began petting him again. “You’re so snuggly,” she teased him.

“Mmm, because you’re so snuggle-able.” he insisted, resting his cheek on her knee. He watched her, and she watched him, stroking his face, his ear, inspecting the differences in their elfin varieties. He was quiet and soft, closing his eyes as she trailed her fingertips down the side of his face and to his chin. The skin there was soft, but if she pushed back, she could feel a little bit of hardness underneath.

“I have to shave on a daily basis, sometimes twice a day.” Illidan chuckled a little, feeling what she was pushing at. “Hair growth comes quick in my family. Mal is going to have a Greatfather Winter beard by the time he graduates, I swear.”

Kael laughed. “I didn’t get a chance to see it before, but I’ll see it at dinner. I’m not mad at him - it was an accident. I hope you didn’t yell at him or anything.”

“Nah,” Illidan wrinkled his nose. “I don’t think he was trying to look either, he’s pretty serious about his relationship with Xavius.”

“Tell me more about Xavius. I’ll meet...him, right? Him, tonight at dinner too.”

“Xavius is...interesting.” Illidan opened his eyes again, looking up at her. “He’s a guy, but last year he was a girl. Sort of? He was born a girl but started transitioning into a guy at school, and got a lot of shit for it.”

“Transitioning?” something inside her lit up a little. “What’s that?”

“It’s...it’s kind of hard to explain.” Illidan admitted sheepishly. “I’ve tried to understand what it’s like, but I don’t think I could ever get it. I sympathize - I mean, he wants us to treat him like a dude, so that’s absolutely what we’re gonna do, you feel me? I just...I think you have to be going through it yourself, in order to understand what it’s truly about. He’s a guy.”

“Maybe I can ask him…”

“You might wanna Google it.” Illidan winced. “I’m sure he’s had a ton of people ask him all year, and he’s probably pretty sick of it. He’s got enough kids at school who refuse to call him by the name he wants to be called, or keep using female pronouns, or just generally call him a girl. I don’t know. If you’re polite, he might not get mad, just...read the mood, right? And back off if he looks upset.”

It was certainly a lot to take in. “I’ll do my best,” Kael promised, continuing to play with Illidan’s face. She booped his nose and he grinned, nipping gently at her fingertip with his sharp fangs.

The both of them cuddled on his bed for a while. Kael talked about her childhood, growing up in luxury and the places she’d been. Illidan spoke of being a wild child, climbing everything in sight, playing in mud for hours, and being a twin. Eventually they heard the door open and happy voices calling up to them. Three upstairs met up in the hallway and went downstairs to meet the three down there. It turned out that Xavius had arrived at the same time as the Stormrage parents, so Kael got to meet everyone at once.

The dad bustled off to the kitchen to prepare dinner, and the four teenagers settled on the couches in the living room. Kael couldn’t stop staring at Xavius. The young man was exceptionally beautiful - _handsome_ , she told herself, _he’s handsome, he’s a guy_. It was weird. She’d never known him as a girl, but it was still clashing in her head. He was just as hairy as the boys had said he was - the backs of his arms, his legs, even his face. He had the strangest beard, half-grown in, and bright eyes. He didn’t look happy - he seemed awkward, especially around the delicate blond slip of a girl that Kael appeared to be - but Malfurion was snuggling with him on the couch, talking about school.

Illidan tugged Kael into his lap and leaned back against one arm of the couch, resting his chin on her head and his feet on the pillows. “Don’t stare,” he rumbled quietly, and she quickly averted her gaze. “It’s impolite.”

“Sorry.” she murmured, looking down at her hands. He covered them with his own, and Kael melted a little. It was so romantic, and the constant touching was _exactly_ what she wanted. It was as though he was psychic - or perhaps he just needed the same things that she did.

“So Kael,” Mal inquired from the other couch, trying to break the awkward silence. “Tell us about you. You’re new.”

“I am.” Kael talked about her family, moving, how happy she was to have made some friends quickly. “I think I’m really going to enjoy it here.”

Illidan made a nose above her and she swatted him. Malfurion laughed, and even Xavius grinned a little. She could see when he relaxed more that he had a couple of piercings, mostly in his long ears, with dark skin - even for a night elf. Her heart and mind burned with un-asked questions, but for his sake, she kept quiet, promising herself a nice long Google session tonight.

Luckily the little Q-and-A period didn’t go on for too much longer before they were all called to dinner. The six of them squashed together at the dinner table, eating and laughing, the mood much more relaxed and happy. Kael felt welcomed here, at home, in this tiny house with such love in it. Illidan’s parents were very warm and caring, and made a lot of effort to have her feel comfortable and safe.

By the time dinner was over and dessert was being digested, they were all in the living room again. Kael was stretched out over Illidan’s lap and he was rubbing her back soothingly. She felt very sleepy, and idly checked her phone again. There was a “read” response message on the notices she’d sent her parents, but no response in text or phone call. In a break in the conversation, Kael’thas rolled over and looked up at Illidan. He peered down at her.

“I wanna spend the night.” she murmured softly, and his eyebrows raised up.

“I’d like that.” he replied quietly, fingertips brushing her shoulder.

Kael began texting to her parents, her pulse speeding up a bit as she sent the message. _I’m staying over at the Stormrage house tonight, unless that’s not okay. Let me know and I’ll come home right away._ She hit _Send_ and then tucked her phone back in her pocket, closing her eyes. “Well, don’t stop petting me.”

Illidan laughed and resumed the gentle touches, but a few moments later her cell phone rang and she quickly excused herself from the room to answer it.

It was her dad. “Hello?”

“Hi, sweetie. I just wanted to call and check up on you. I’ve been getting your messages all afternoon. This is about that boy you like, right?”

“Yeah, dad. H-he, I stayed for dinner, and I wanna stay overnight. Is that okay?”

There was a pause. “Honey, you know I just want you to be happy. If you want to stay over, that’s fine. I understand you’re a growing young woman, and you want things, and - “

“Oh my _god_ , daddy, now is _not_ the time…”

She heard him laughing through the phone. “All right, princess. I won’t give you ‘the talk’. I know you’ve already had that at school anyway. Remember - no kids until you’ve at least got a Master’s degree, right?”

“Right, daddy.” she grinned, sagging against the wall with relief. “Some day you get grandkids. But not this year. Or next year. Or anytime soon.”

“I love you, sweetheart. Have a good time and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I love you, dad.” Kael hung up and walked back into the living room, grinning from ear to ear. Illidan’s parents had left the room while she had been in the hallway, and the three of them turned to her. Her cheeks burned as she scurried back onto the couch.

“I’m guessing the verdict is good?” Illidan drawled as he resumed petting her hair.

“Yup.” she wriggled, and he laughed.

“I have to get going.” she could hear Xavius from across the room talking to Mal, and her stomach dropped. Suddenly she felt guilty, more spoiled than ever before. Her father might not understand her, but at least he supported her. How did Xavius’ parents treat him? Surely not well, from the way he was always so surly.

“It was nice to meet you,” she sat up quickly, resting against Illidan’s side and looking across the room. Xavius looked at her in surprise. His bushy brows vanished up above his shaggy hairline.

“Oh, uh, it was nice to meet you, too.” he replied. His expression had lightened up a bit. “You seem really nice.”

“Thank you!” she beamed at him. Hoping it wasn’t the wrong thing to say, she then cautiously remarked, “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone like you before.” seeing the way he bristled, she quickly continued, “You look like a super-buff lumberjack!”

Xavius, clearly not expecting this, burst out laughing, which put everyone in the room at ease. He swiped at his cheek, pushing away tears of mirth. “I don’t think anyone’s ever called me that before, but I can see where you get that idea!” he made flex-arms, and Kael applauded with delight. “I’m my own man.”

“Definitely.” Kael’thas grinned at him, and just like that, she could feel the coldness in the room melt away. Xavius only stayed another ten minutes, but he was in a much better mood the whole time, and even gave her a hug before he walked out the door.

Malfurion gently put a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for being so understanding. He’s getting a lot of grief at school this year ever since he started transitioning, and a fair amount of it has come from girls who treat him like just another one of them, instead of a guy.”

“Illidan said he’s a guy right, he wasn’t born a guy, but he’s a guy now.” Kael tried to explain it the way she understood it. “That’s all that counts.”

“Thank you.” Mal looked relieved, but he also looked very tired, so when they got to the top of the stairs, they each went their own ways. Mal went off to his room, and Illidan and Kael bustled off to Illidan’s room and relaxed again.

Kael was playing with her new Pusheen-o-saurus plushie while Illidan set up his computer so they could see the screen. Netflix had a good selection on. They picked one, then Illidan pulled on his pajamas, letting Kael have one of his extra-large long shirts, and snuggled on his bed watching the movie together. Illidan played with the plushie with one hand idly, the other one around Kael’s shoulders.

When the movie was over, Illidan shut his computer down, then came back to bed and snuggled with her under the blankets. Kael rested her head on his shoulder and he slung an arm over her midsection, tucking her close to him, and they talked quietly for a while about school, about the upcoming year, and then ultimately, nothing in particular. Eventually they were yawning so much that they could barely keep their eyes open, and Illidan pulled her even closer, and they fell asleep.


End file.
